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“The transition to parenthood is a challenging time for couples especially because of the biological and psychological changes that occur for the birthing parent. We were interested in examining how prenatal changes in testosterone in response to a parenting stress task related to psychological outcomes for parents postpartum. We found that a greater change in testosterone in response to this parenting task – for dads only – was related to moms perceiving less social support from their partner. We interpret this to mean that dads who may be feeling challenged or reactive to parenting may be providing less support to their female partners.” -Nicole M. Froidevaux, PhD
Examining the link between salivary testosterone and psychological perceptions between first-time parents
The Dyadic Association of Testosterone With Perceived Social Support in Couples Across the Transition to Parenthood
Froidevaux, N. M., Lai, J., Simon, S. G., Benjamin, L., Somers, J. A., Granger, D. A., Shai, D., & Borelli, J. L. (2025). Developmental Psychobiology.
Research Highlights: This longitudinal, dyadic study followed 110 heterosexual couples as they transitioned to parenthood, examining prenatal salivary testosterone levels and perceived social support during a stressful parenting task. Findings showed that both parents reported a significant decline in social support from prenatal to the postpartum period. In addition, lower maternal prenatal salivary testosterone was associated with higher maternal perceived social support after birth. Importantly, lower paternal prenatal salivary testosterone reactivity was associated with higher maternal perceived social support after birth.
Keywords: saliva, testosterone, first-time parents, social support, parenthood
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