Abstract
ObjectiveAlthough 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.MethodsWe 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.ResultsLongitudinal 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.ConclusionsOur 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.
Highlights
Inspired by findings from non-human primates, many recent studies have used longitudinal designs to investigate the hormonal correlates of withinwoman changes in both sexual desire and sociosexual orientation
In light of the mixed results for steroid hormones and both men’s sexual desire and sociosexual orientation, we investigated possible relationships between within-subject changes in men’s salivary testosterone and cortisol and their reported sexual desire and sociosexual orientation
We investigated possible relationships between men’s average steroid hormone levels and their reported sexual desire and sociosexual orientation
Summary
Inspired by findings from non-human primates (reviewed in Roney 2018), many recent studies have used longitudinal designs to investigate the hormonal correlates of withinwoman changes in both sexual desire (solitary sexual desire, which reflects the desire for sexual behavior with oneself, or dyadic sexual desire, the desire for engaging in sex with a partner) and sociosexual orientation (the openness to uncommitted sex, which can be subdivided into sociosexual behavior, desire and attitudes). Results on this topic have been somewhat mixed, . The only study that reports longitudinal results (within-subjects changes) in a non-clinical sample does not find compelling evidence for a link between within-men changes in sociosexual orientation and testosterone (Gettler et al 2019)
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