Androgen dynamics in the context of children's peer relations: an examination of the links between testosterone and peer victimization |
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| Authors: | Tracy Vaillancourt Denys deCatanzaro Eric Duku Cameron Muir |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;2. Faculty of Education and School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada;3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;4. Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Testosterone levels have been shown to decrease in the face of social defeat in several mammalian species. Among humans, the loss of social status has been studied primarily in the context of athletic competition, with winners having higher testosterone levels than losers. This study examined testosterone levels in relation to peer victimization (bullying) in a sample of 151 boys and girls aged 12–13. Statistically controlling for age and pubertal status, results indicated that on average verbally bullied girls produced less testosterone and verbally bullied boys produced more testosterone than their nonbullied counterparts. Similar trends were evident comparing social and physical bullying with testosterone. Sex differences are discussed in terms of empirically validated differences in coping styles, as girls tend to internalize, whereas boys tend to externalize, their abuse. Aggr. Behav. 35:103–113, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. |
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| Keywords: | testosterone peer victimization bullying social defeat sex differences social status multilevel modeling children |
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