Hormones and Competitive Aggression in Women

This study used diaries of competitive interactions to explore the relationship between hormones and competitive aggression in women. Thirty women completed approximately 10 diary entries each. In each entry, the women described a recent competitive interaction they had engaged in and noted whether it was expressed aggressively or through other tactics. Each woman received a score for the fraction of her competitive interactions that were expressed using physical aggression, verbal aggression, nothing overt, and so on. Hormones (total testosterone, free testosterone, androstenedione, estradiol, and cortisol) were measured in serum early in the follicular phase. Results indicate that women with low levels of androstenedione and total testosterone were less likely to express their competitive feelings overtly, while women with high levels of androstenedione were more likely than other women to express their competitive feelings through verbal aggression. Estradiol was unrelated to competitive tactics, but women with high estradiol levels reported fewer competitive interactions over athletics than did other women. Aggr. Behav. 29:107–115, 2003. r 2003 Wiley–Liss, Inc.