Salivary testosterone and cortisol among late adolescent male offenders

The relationship of salivary testosterone and cortisol concentrations to personality, criminal violence, prison behavior, and parole board decisions was examined among 113 late-adolescent male offenders. Offenders high in testosterone committed more violent crimes, were judged more harshly by the parole board, and violated prison rules more often than those low in testosterone. No main effects for cortisol emerged. However, as expected, a significant interaction between testosterone and cortisol was found, in which cortisol moderated the correlation between testosterone and violence of crime. Cortisol may be a biological indicator of psychological variables (e.g., social withdrawal) that moderate the testosterone-behavior relationship. Paper and pencil measures of personality and behavior showed little relationship to hormones.This research was supported in part by NIMH grant MH42525 and by a Vice-President's grant from Georgia State University. We wish to thank the Georgia Department of Corrections and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles for making the research possible. In addition, we specifically extend thanks to Tim Carr (Department of Corrections); to Sue Aiken, Tom Morris, and Sheila Thompson (Board of Pardons and Paroles); and to Debra Plyler and Paula Williams for coding inmate records.