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Association between a marker for prenatal testosterone exposure and externalizing behavior problems in children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2012

Jianghong Liu ,
Jill Portnoy  and
Adrian Raine
Jianghong Liu
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Jill Portnoy
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Adrian Raine*
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Adrian Raine, Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3809 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104; E-mail: araine@sas.upenn.edu.
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Abstract

Prenatal androgen exposure has been associated with aggressive behavior in adults. It is less clear whether this association holds for childhood externalizing behavior. This study tests the hypothesis that increased prenatal androgen exposure is associated with aggressive behavior and attention problems in childhood. The ratio of the length of the second finger digit relative to the fourth digit, which is a marker for prenatal testosterone exposure, was assessed in 239 male and female fifth grade schoolchildren from Jintan, China, together with parent and teacher ratings of aggression and attention problems. Increased aggression and attention problems were both significantly associated with a lower ratio of the length of the second finger digit relative to the fourth digit ratios in boys but not girls. The effects remained significant after controlling for early adversity. These findings are the first to establish a relationship between an indirect indicator of fetal androgen exposure and any child psychopathology in Chinese children, and the observed effect size in boys was stronger than in male adults in Western studies. The results provide limited cross-cultural support for the importance of prenatal androgen exposure in contributing to the development of externalizing behavior problems in children, and they suggest that such effects may be specific to boys who may be relatively more vulnerable to early prenatal influences.

Type
Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 24 , Issue 3: Multilevel Approaches Toward Understanding Antisocial Behavior: Current Research and Future Directions , August 2012 , pp. 771 - 782
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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