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Exploring Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Fatherhood and Paternal Biology: Testosterone as an Exemplar

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Handbook of Fathers and Child Development

Abstract

Fathers’ roles vary greatly within and across cultures. Reflecting human biological plasticity, these diverse forms of fathering are expressed through psychobiological mechanisms. In this chapter, I focus on testosterone as one of the key and widely studied mechanisms relevant to the biology of fatherhood in humans and other species. I highlight the ways that evolutionary framing provides a critical foundation for proposing why men’s neurobiological and hormonal systems would have the functional capacity to respond to certain forms of partnering and parenting. I also review the importance of cultural variation in fatherhood and family life for studying the plausible range of possibilities for parental physiology in contemporary family systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA

    Lee T. Gettler

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  1. Lee T. Gettler
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Correspondence to Lee T. Gettler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Hiram E. Fitzgerald

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany

    Kai von Klitzing

  3. University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Natasha J. Cabrera

  4. Graduate Program in Educational Psychology, Centro Universitário FIEO, Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil

    Júlia Scarano de Mendonça

  5. Division of Mental Health, Akershus University Hospital HF, Lørenskog, Norway

    Thomas Skjøthaug

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Gettler, L.T. (2020). Exploring Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Fatherhood and Paternal Biology: Testosterone as an Exemplar. In: Fitzgerald, H.E., von Klitzing, K., Cabrera, N.J., Scarano de Mendonça, J., Skjøthaug, T. (eds) Handbook of Fathers and Child Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51027-5_10

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