Marriage, parenting, and testosterone variation among Kenyan Swahili men.
Male variation in testosterone (T) levels may, in part, reflect a differential behavioral allocation to mating and parenting effort. This research tests whether demographic indicators of pair bonding and parenting were associated with salivary T levels among Kenyan Swahili men. Men in the sample were either unmarried (N = 17), monogamously married (N = 57), or polygynously married (N = 14), and between ages 29-52. In contrast with earlier findings among North American men, monogamously married men did not have lower T levels than unmarried men. However, among all married men, men with younger genetic children tended to have marginally lower T levels. Polygynously married men, all of whom had two wives, had higher T levels than all other Swahili men. Possible explanations of higher T levels among polygynously married men are explored.
Gray
Peter B
PB
Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. gray@fas.harvard.edu
D000328:Adult; D000885:Anthropology, Physical / Q000379:methods; D044383:Black People; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D016487:Parenting; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism*
D013739:Testosterone