The dual-hormone hypothesis and first-time fathers’ relationship satisfaction at 3 months postpartum
Human males face tradeoffs in how they invest resources toward mating and parenting. Research on male’s transition to fatherhood has revealed shifts in hormones tied to these tradeoffs. While work has focused on the influence of hormones on parenting during this stage, less is known about how these...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1447640/full |
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| author | Rylei L. Donovan Randy Corpuz |
| author_facet | Rylei L. Donovan Randy Corpuz |
| author_sort | Rylei L. Donovan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human males face tradeoffs in how they invest resources toward mating and parenting. Research on male’s transition to fatherhood has revealed shifts in hormones tied to these tradeoffs. While work has focused on the influence of hormones on parenting during this stage, less is known about how these hormones influence mating (i.e., relationship functioning with partner) in the postnatal period. A father’s relationship satisfaction is expected to be related to endocrine activity across the transition to parenthood. We predicted that first-time fathers with high testosterone (T) would report lower relationship satisfaction. We expected this effect to be amplified (moderation) for those males with lower cortisol (CORT) levels (i.e., dual hormone hypothesis). At 3 months postpartum we measured salivary T and CORT (n = 220) and recorded relationship satisfaction using the Investment Model Scale (IMS). We found that fathers with high T and low CORT had the highest relationship satisfaction. While the effect was small, these findings ran counter to our predictions. We speculate that higher T and lower CORT males may report increased satisfaction as they support, retain, and secure additional opportunities from a mate who recently demonstrated her ability (and willingness) to produce offspring. Discussion focuses on numerous limitations of the study, small effect size, and the need for replication with less homogenous samples. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9fa66945cd9b4c64ad135a8b68795e01 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-9fa66945cd9b4c64ad135a8b68795e012025-08-20T01:55:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-05-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.14476401447640The dual-hormone hypothesis and first-time fathers’ relationship satisfaction at 3 months postpartumRylei L. Donovan0Randy Corpuz1Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA, United StatesHuman males face tradeoffs in how they invest resources toward mating and parenting. Research on male’s transition to fatherhood has revealed shifts in hormones tied to these tradeoffs. While work has focused on the influence of hormones on parenting during this stage, less is known about how these hormones influence mating (i.e., relationship functioning with partner) in the postnatal period. A father’s relationship satisfaction is expected to be related to endocrine activity across the transition to parenthood. We predicted that first-time fathers with high testosterone (T) would report lower relationship satisfaction. We expected this effect to be amplified (moderation) for those males with lower cortisol (CORT) levels (i.e., dual hormone hypothesis). At 3 months postpartum we measured salivary T and CORT (n = 220) and recorded relationship satisfaction using the Investment Model Scale (IMS). We found that fathers with high T and low CORT had the highest relationship satisfaction. While the effect was small, these findings ran counter to our predictions. We speculate that higher T and lower CORT males may report increased satisfaction as they support, retain, and secure additional opportunities from a mate who recently demonstrated her ability (and willingness) to produce offspring. Discussion focuses on numerous limitations of the study, small effect size, and the need for replication with less homogenous samples.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1447640/fullfatherstestosteronecortisoldual hormonerelationships |
| spellingShingle | Rylei L. Donovan Randy Corpuz The dual-hormone hypothesis and first-time fathers’ relationship satisfaction at 3 months postpartum Frontiers in Psychology fathers testosterone cortisol dual hormone relationships |
| title | The dual-hormone hypothesis and first-time fathers’ relationship satisfaction at 3 months postpartum |
| title_full | The dual-hormone hypothesis and first-time fathers’ relationship satisfaction at 3 months postpartum |
| title_fullStr | The dual-hormone hypothesis and first-time fathers’ relationship satisfaction at 3 months postpartum |
| title_full_unstemmed | The dual-hormone hypothesis and first-time fathers’ relationship satisfaction at 3 months postpartum |
| title_short | The dual-hormone hypothesis and first-time fathers’ relationship satisfaction at 3 months postpartum |
| title_sort | dual hormone hypothesis and first time fathers relationship satisfaction at 3 months postpartum |
| topic | fathers testosterone cortisol dual hormone relationships |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1447640/full |
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