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Are testosterone levels and depression risk linked based on partnering and parenting? Evidence from a large population-representative study of U.S. men and women

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  • Gettler, Lee T.
  • Oka, Rahul C.

Abstract

Partnered adults tend to have lower risks of depression than do single individuals, while parents are more commonly depressed than non-parents. Low testosterone men, and possibly women, are also at greater risk of depression. A large body of research has shown that partnered parents have lower testosterone than single non-parents in some cultural settings, including the U.S. Here, we drew on a large (n = 2438), U.S.-population representative cohort of reproductive aged adults (age: 38.1 years ± 11.1 SD) to test hypotheses regarding the intersections between partnering and parenting, testosterone, socio-demographic characteristics, and depression outcomes. Men and women’s depression prevalence did not vary based on testosterone. Partnered fathers had lower testosterone than single (never married, divorced) non-fathers, but were less commonly depressed than those single non-fathers. Partnered mothers had reduced testosterone compared to never married and partnered non-mothers. Never married mothers had higher depression prevalence and elevated depressive symptomology compared to partnered mothers; these differences were largely accounted for by key health-related covariates (e.g. cigarette smoking, BMI). We found significant three-way-interactions between socioeconomic status (SES), testosterone, and parenting for adults’ depression risks. High testosterone, high SES fathers had the lowest prevalence of mild depression, whereas low testosterone, low SES non-fathers had the highest. Compared to other mothers, low SES, low testosterone mothers had elevated prevalence of mild depression. Overall, low SES, high testosterone non-mothers had substantially elevated depression risks compared to other women. We suggest that psychobiological profiles (e.g. a male with low testosterone) can emerge through variable psychosomatic and psychosocial pathways and the net effect of those profiles for depression are influenced by the social (e.g. partnering and parenting status; socioeconomic gradients), cultural (e.g. gender and family life domains), and ecological (e.g. the lived environment, particularly related to low SES and poverty) contexts in which individuals find themselves.

Suggested Citation

  • Gettler, Lee T. & Oka, Rahul C., 2016. "Are testosterone levels and depression risk linked based on partnering and parenting? Evidence from a large population-representative study of U.S. men and women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 157-167.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:163:y:2016:i:c:p:157-167
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.06.044
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Griffin, Joan M. & Fuhrer, Rebecca & Stansfeld, Stephen A. & Marmot, Michael, 2002. "The importance of low control at work and home on depression and anxiety: do these effects vary by gender and social class?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 54(5), pages 783-798, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gettler, Lee T. & Rosenbaum, Stacy & Bechayda, Sonny Agustin & McDade, Thomas W. & Kuzawa, Christopher W., 2024. "Men's physical health and life history transitions in the Philippines: Evidence for ‘marital selection’ but not protective effects of partnering and fatherhood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 346(C).
    2. Jan Priebe, 2020. "Quasi-experimental evidence for the causal link between fertility and subjective well-being," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 839-882, July.

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