Effects of prenatally administered 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate on adolescent males.

Abstract

The study was designed to determine whether exogenous prenatal exposure to 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (Delalutin) affects male recreational interests in boyhood and adolescence and male psychosexual development and whether total dosage, duration, and time of exposure has an effect on the previously mentioned variables. Subjects included 25 prenatally Delalutin-exposed males and 25 closely matched unexposed males. Subjects were administered the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test, the Draw-a-Person Test, the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study for Adolescents, the Embedded Figures Test, and the Forer Structured-Sentence Completion Test. Also, both subjects and their mothers were interviewed. Analysis of the data utilized raters to score subjective test instruments. Statistical analysis was conducted by t test, sign test, and multiple correlation. Only one significant difference was evident. Delalutin-exposed subjects spend significantly more time in the sedentary pursuit of watching television. However, there was no significant difference in their expressed interest in watching television or the type of television programs selected. The total dosage, duration, and period of gestation of drug administration had no significant effect in altering the findings. But a subtle difference was observed when the Delalutin regimen was not constant and when there was an interaction between psychological variables and the drug regimen.