Testosterone, sexuality and antisocial personality in rapists and child molesters: a pilot study.
Morning and afternoon levels of saliva testosterone levels in Finnish imprisoned rapists (n = 10) and child molesters (n = 10) were compared to those in randomly selected control subjects (n = 31). The associations of saliva testosterone with sexual behavior and antisocial personality traits were explored in all groups. The sexual offenders and control subjects did not differ in the between-subjects main effect estimated for the averaged morning and afternoon testosterone levels. Seven rapists and three child molesters met the criteria for antisocial personality disorder (ASP). In the sexual offenders, a summed ASP index was positively correlated with mean saliva testosterone. Sexual activity as estimated from self-reports of sexual intercourse and masturbation was significantly related to testosterone in both rapists and child molesters but not in the control males. The implications of these results are discussed.
Department of Psychology, Abo Akademi University, FIN-20500 Turku, Finland. anu_aromaki@hotmail.com
Anu S
AS
Aromäki
Ralf E
RE
Lindman
C J Peter
CJ
Eriksson
D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011902:Rape / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013739:Testosterone / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
D013739:Testosterone