Variability in diurnal testosterone, exposure to violence, and antisocial behavior in young adolescents

Dev Psychopathol. 2015 Nov;27(4 Pt 1):1341-52. doi: 10.1017/S095457941400145X.

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to provide evidence of an association between within-person variability in diurnal testosterone over 1 year, lifetime exposure to violence, and the manifestation of antisocial behavior in 135 pubertal-aged adolescents across 1 year. Adolescents' sex and lifetime history of violence exposure moderated the association between within-person variability in diurnal testosterone and antisocial behavior. Furthermore, sex-stratified analyses revealed that lifetime history of exposure to violence moderated the association between within-person variability in diurnal testosterone and antisocial behavior in females only. This report is unique in that it illuminates sex differences in within-person associations among exposure to violence, individual variability in diurnal testosterone, and antisocial behavior.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Antisocial Personality Disorder / blood*
  • Antisocial Personality Disorder / diagnosis
  • Antisocial Personality Disorder / psychology*
  • Circadian Rhythm / physiology*
  • Exposure to Violence / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Individuality
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Male
  • Puberty / blood
  • Puberty / psychology
  • Sex Factors
  • Testosterone / blood*
  • Violence

Substances

  • Testosterone