Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Horm Behav. 2020 Sep;125:104810. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104810. Epub 2020 Aug 1.
Although increasing numbers of gay and lesbian individuals ultimately become parents, the vast majority of research on the transition to parenthood focuses exclusively on heterosexual samples. Even less is known about the physiological implications of this major life transition among those who identify as sexual minorities. The present study begins to redress these gaps in the literature by assessing prospective links between prenatal testosterone, a steroid hormone that is negatively associated with nurturance and caregiving, and postpartum outcomes in a sample of 25 first-time expectant lesbian couples (N = 50 individuals). Consistent with prior work in heterosexual samples, which suggests that lower testosterone promotes both partnering and parenting, we found that, in both partners, lower testosterone during the prenatal period predicted better romantic relationship and parenting outcomes at three-months postpartum (e.g., higher relationship quality, more time spent doing baby care). There was also evidence for dyadic associations; for instance, birth mothers reported more overprotective behavior, and non-birth mothers reported greater commitment, when their female partners had lower testosterone. Together, our findings contribute important new knowledge about the functionality of testosterone in close relationships contexts, including some of the first evidence among sexual minorities.
尽管越来越多的同性恋者最终成为父母，但绝大多数关于为人父母的过渡的研究仅专注于异性恋样本。在那些认同为性少数群体的人中，关于这一重大生活转变的生理影响的了解则更少。本研究通过评估 25 对首次期待成为父母的女同性恋夫妇（N=50 人）样本中产前睾丸激素（一种与养育和照顾呈负相关的类固醇激素）与产后结果之间的前瞻性联系，开始弥补文献中的这些空白。与先前在异性恋样本中的研究一致，该研究表明较低的睾丸激素既促进伴侣关系又促进育儿，我们发现，在两个伴侣中，产前睾丸激素水平较低预示着产后三个月的浪漫关系和育儿结果更好（例如，关系质量更高，花更多时间照顾婴儿）。还存在对偶关联的证据；例如，当女同性恋伴侣的睾丸激素水平较低时，分娩母亲报告的过度保护行为更多，而非分娩母亲报告的承诺更大。总的来说，我们的研究结果为睾丸激素在亲密关系背景下的功能提供了重要的新知识，包括性少数群体中的一些首次证据。
