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Are sexual desire and sociosexual orientation related to men’s salivary steroid hormones?

Stern, Julia; Karastoyanova, Konstantina; Kandrik, Michal; Torrance, Jaimie; Hahn, Amanda C.; Holzleitner, Iris; DeBruine, Lisa M.; Jones, Benedict C.

Are sexual desire and sociosexual orientation related to men’s salivary steroid hormones? Thumbnail


Authors

Julia Stern

Konstantina Karastoyanova

Michal Kandrik

Jaimie Torrance

Amanda C. Hahn

Lisa M. DeBruine

Benedict C. Jones



Abstract

Objective: Although it is widely assumed that men’s sexual desire and interest in casual sex (i.e., sociosexual orientation) are linked to steroid hormone levels, evidence for such associations is mixed. Methods: We tested for both longitudinal and cross-sectional relationships between salivary testosterone, cortisol, reported sexual desire and sociosexuality in a sample of 61 young adult men, each of whom was tested weekly on up to five occasions. Results: Longitudinal analyses showed no clear relationships between steroid hormones and self-reported sexual desire or sociosexual orientation. Cross-sectional analyses showed no significant associations between average hormone levels and self-reported sexual desire. However, some aspects of sociosexuality, most notably desire for casual sex, were related to men’s average hormone levels. Men with higher average testosterone reported greater desire for casual sex, but only if they also had relatively low average cortisol levels. Conclusions: Our results support a Dual Hormone account of men’s sociosexuality, in which the combined effects of testosterone and cortisol predict the extent of men’s interest in casual sex. However, we did not detect compelling evidence for an association of within-subject hormone shifts and sexual desire or sociosexual orientation.

Citation

Stern, J., Karastoyanova, K., Kandrik, M., Torrance, J., Hahn, A. C., Holzleitner, I., …Jones, B. C. (2020). Are sexual desire and sociosexual orientation related to men’s salivary steroid hormones?. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 6(4), 447-466. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-020-00148-y

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 12, 2020
Online Publication Date Aug 24, 2020
Publication Date 2020-12
Deposit Date Jun 11, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology
Electronic ISSN 2198-7335
Publisher Springer (part of Springer Nature)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 6
Issue 4
Pages 447-466
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-020-00148-y
Keywords Sexual desire; Sociosexual orientation; Testosterone; Cortisol; Dual Hormone Hypothesis
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7460822

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