Aggressiveness in responses to victimization and the relationship with testosterone and cortisol

A study conducted in Spain showed that adolescents with high or low levels of hormones testosterone and cortisol tend to react more aggressively in situations of victimization or provocation by colleagues. The study, published in the journal Development and Psychopathology, also found that girls have aggressive responses related to the proportion of these hormones.

Peer victimization is a frequent problem in children and adolescents, and may involve bullying, physical aggression, social exclusion, insults and direct humiliation. It is estimated that 15% to 35% of young people suffer from this form of violence.

cyberbullying

O cyberbullying It is a relatively new form of peer-to-peer victimization that involves sending offensive messages or posting negative content about the victim on social media. This form of violence can negatively affect the victim's self-esteem and self-image, and many adolescents tend to react aggressively to being the target of cyberbullying.

This can lead to a cycle of victimization and aggression that can persist over time. It is therefore important to examine how testosterone and cortisol levels can moderate a person's response to cyberbullying in order to prevent and stop this type of violence.

The author of the study, Esther Calvete, professor of psychology at the University of Deusto, said that, despite decades of research into the relationship between testosterone and aggression in humans, the results are still not clear. conclusive. Previous meta-analyses have pointed to significant methodological limitations, such as insufficient sample size and scarcity of longitudinal designs.

Search

To resolve these issues, the current study analyzed data from 577 adolescents between 12 and 17 years old, collected in 10 schools in the Basque Country, Spain, as part of a study examining ways to prevent depression and other psychological problems in teenagers.

In this study, participants answered questionnaires that assessed their experience with victimization and behavior aggressive, both online and offline, using the Revised Peer Experiences Questionnaire and the Cyberbullying.

The researchers collected saliva samples to measure the participants' testosterone and cortisol levels in the classroom. The results indicated a strong relationship between victimization and perpetration of aggressive behavior, meaning that those who were victims of aggression were more likely to be aggressive. A strong association was also observed between online and offline aggression, suggesting that adolescents who were aggressive in one environment also tended to be aggressive in another.

Results

The results of a study led by Esther Calvete indicate that the combination of testosterone levels and cortisol can influence the aggressive reaction of adolescents in situations of victimization or provocation online. The study found that participants with high or low levels of both hormones exhibited aggressive behaviors.

The research highlights that testosterone is not enough to explain aggressiveness in adolescents, with the combination with other hormones and victimization experiences being a relevant factor.

Research indicates that the combination of high levels of cortisol and testosterone is linked to more aggressive online responses in girls, while higher testosterone levels are associated with less aggressive online responses when the cortisol level is low. Offline victimization was associated with aggressive reactions in boys but not in girls.

The ratio of testosterone and cortisol levels in saliva was also related to online aggressive responses in girls, but not in boys. The results challenge the dual hormone hypothesis, which suggests that testosterone is only linked to aggressive behavior when cortisol is low.

Study reveals the connection between hormone concentrations and complex behavior, but points out limitations that must be considered. The measurement of hormone concentration was only done at one time of day, although this is known to vary. Furthermore, the victimization and perpetration assessment was based only on self-reports, which may have contributed to the strong association between victimization assessments and aggressive behavior.

The study indicates that the association between testosterone and aggression depends on the situation and other factors. personal characteristics of adolescents, such as cortisol levels and relevant knowledge structures for aggression. The next research steps are to investigate and identify these factors.