An exploratory study on self-evaluated aggression and androgens in women

Healthy, premenopausal women completed the Buss‐Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Venous blood samples were taken at the mid‐cycle phase of the menstrual cycle to determine plasma androgen levels. Total and free testosterone, 5α‐dihydrotestosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone were assessed. Path analyses were aimed at finding out which of the five circulating hormones might best predict a latent aggression construct derived from the four subscales of the Aggression Questionnaire. A significant correlation was found between free testosterone and physical and verbal aggression subscales. In addition, the results demonstrate for the first time in women a significant link between 5α‐dihydrotestosterone and anger. Thus, both testosterone and 5α‐dihydrotestosterone may affect, by separate pathways, the basal regulation of aggression‐proneness in women. Aggr. Behav. 28:273–280, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.