Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Longitudinal Perspectives on Human Paternal Psychobiology in the Philippines

研究表明，在某些文化背景下，父亲的睾丸激素水平低于非父亲。由于这些研究没有记录男性转变为父亲时激素随时间的变化，因此尚不清楚睾酮水平低的男性是否更有可能成为父亲，或者，如果有孩子会导致男性激素变化，就像过去的研究在母亲身上显示的那样。这项研究验证了一个假设，即男性在成为父亲后睾丸激素减少，催乳素（一种与母亲养育行为有关的激素）增加。这个问题将在850名男子参加一个大型的社区为基础的研究在菲律宾进行评估。这项研究的第二个目的是评估在60名同样的男性中，为孩子提供照顾是否会导致这些激素的立即，短期变化。这些男人被要求为他们的孩子提供30分钟的文化适当的照顾。在这种相互作用之前和之后，将测量唾液和指尖干燥血液样本中的激素，从而评估激素是否转变为与养育行为更相容的特征。 通过将激素水平与男性的父亲行为及其对父亲和儿童保育的态度的详细报告进行比较，这项研究将有助于澄清男性在父亲的特定背景下所经历的生物变化的性质。与许多其他哺乳动物相比，这些特征在人类中可能是唯一重要的。该项目还扩大了对行为和生物学在不同文化中的不同方式的理解，为人类在父亲行为及其与男性荷尔蒙分布的关系方面的多样性提供了重要的见解。最后，该项目促进了菲律宾和美国学者和大学之间的国际研究合作。

Research has shown that in some cultural settings fathers have lower testosterone levels than non-fathers. Because these studies have not documented changes in hormones over time as men transition into fatherhood, it is not clear whether men with low testosterone are more likely to become fathers, or alternatively, if having a child leads to hormonal changes in men, much as past research has shown in mothers. This study tests the hypothesis that men experience a reduction in testosterone and an increase in prolactin (a hormone related to nurturing behavior in mothers) after becoming fathers. This question will be evaluated in 850 men participating in a large community-based study in the Philippines. The second aim of the study is to assess whether providing care to children leads to immediate, short-term changes in these same hormones in a smaller sample of 60 of the same men. These men are asked to provide culturally-appropriate care for their child for 30 minutes. Hormones will be measured in saliva and fingertip dried blood samples before and after this interaction, allowing evaluation of whether hormones shift to a profile more compatible with nurturing behavior. By comparing hormone levels with detailed reports of men's fathering behaviors and their attitudes regarding fatherhood and childcare, this study will help clarify the nature of biological changes that men experience in specific contexts of fathering. These characteristics may be uniquely important in humans compared to many other mammals. This project also expands understanding of the ways in which behavior and biology differ across cultures by contributing important insights into the range of human diversity in fathering behaviors and their relationships to male hormonal profiles. Finally, the project fosters international research collaboration between scholars and universities in the Philippines and US.