Testosterone in the Development of Aggressive Antisocial Behavior in Adolescents

Abstract

Recent studies of the relationship between plasma testosterone levels and aggressive and antisocial behavior in the human male have yielded somewhat conflicting results. Positive associations have been found between testosterone levels and some of the aggressive and antisocial/criminal dimensions studied (Doering, Brodie, Kraemer, Moos, Becker, and Hamburg, 1975; Ehrenkrantz, Bliss, and Shepard, 1974; Kreuz and Rose, 1972; Persky, Smith, and Basu, 1971; Rada, Laws, and Kellner, 1976), while negative findings have also been obtained with related dimensions in the same or other studies (Doering et al., 1975; Ehrenkrantz et al., 1974; Kreuz and Rose, 1972; Meyer-Bahlburg, Boon, Sharma, and Edwards, 1974; Monti, Brown, and Corrivean, 1977; Rada et al., 1976). Although the results on the human males thus are not clear cut, they suggest, when combined with findings from animal studies (see e.g., Moyer, 1976; Rose, 1975), that there may be a positive relationship between plasma testosterone levels and one or more aspects aggressive, impulsive and antisocial behavior patterns.