Posted on 05/30/2002 3:25:42 PM PDT by SpyderTim
Hormone Levels and Why Men Behave Badly Wed May 22, 2:09 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Women interested in knowing whether their men are likely to stray should find out their testosterone levels.
In birds, low levels of the male hormone encourage fidelity while higher levels mean they are more likely to play the field, and the same could hold true for humans.
Scientists at Harvard University have discovered that married men who spend time with their family have lower testosterone levels than bachelors.
When anthropologist Peter Gray and his colleagues measured testosterone levels of 58 men they found that levels dropped after a natural peak in the morning but the decrease was more prominent in the married men than in bachelors.
"And fathers seem to show an even more dramatic difference from unmarried men," Gray told New Scientist magazine on Wednesday.
So devoted dads, who are less likely to stray, probably have lower testosterone levels.
Gray believes it could work both ways. Lower levels encourage men to spend time with their family and being in a family may lower the hormone levels.
In his next project, he plans to study levels of the hormone in men separated from their wives but who have joint custody of their children to separate the impact of marriage from parenting.
AKA Morning Wood...
Married family men are fed broccoli which has a chemical that produces estrogen-like activity. Bachelors rarely eat broccoli.
Which may be followed up by the third segment of the study, in which there are plans to study the levels of the hormone in men over the age of 40 who are still living at home with their mothers to separate the impact of apron strings from marriage... ;0)
Of course, it is just possible that loving their family has something to do with behavior...nah...gotta be chemicals...
Married family men are fed broccoli which has a chemical that produces estrogen-like activity. Bachelors rarely eat broccoli.
I always thought GHWBush was a wimp, but maybe he was on to something.
"But hillary, I can't help it that I have high testosterone levels!" Ranks right up there with "Oral sex isn't really sex."
Hey, you don't have to bite my leg off, Dobie; I was just trying to play along. I thought "Beavis and Butthead" was the best show ever on eMptyTV -- as least until "The Osbournes" came along and made B&B look like highbrow stuff in comparison.
Don't you think the fact the single guy is constantly in the hunt that their testosterone levels are at a higher level? Behavior and mindset change your chemical balance. Kind of a chicken and egg question that can never be determined. But hey, who is to stop them from seeking more grant money.
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