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. 2021 Jun;30(3):202-210.
doi: 10.1177/0963721421998341. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Evidence and Implications from a Natural Experiment of Prenatal Androgen Effects on Gendered Behavior

Sheri A Berenbaum  1 , Adriene M Beltz  2
Affiliations

Evidence and Implications from a Natural Experiment of Prenatal Androgen Effects on Gendered Behavior

Sheri A Berenbaum et al. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Sex and gender are key to people's lives, and are the focus of scientific and popular interest and controversy. Sex-related psychological characteristics reflect more than socialization; they are influenced by sex hormones present during sensitive periods of development, particularly prenatal androgens. Studies of females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) show how prenatal androgens affect behavior across the life span, with large effects on gendered activity interests and engagement, moderate effects on spatial abilities, and relatively small (or no) effects on gender identity, gender cognitions, and gendered peer involvement. In addition to showing the complexity of androgen effects on gendered behavior, studies of females with CAH provide an opportunity to test theories of gender development, understand how nature and nurture work together, and examine mechanisms of development. The implications of this work have often been misunderstood, so we consider what it means - and does not mean - for biology to influence gender-related behavior.

Keywords: congenital adrenal hyperplasia; differences of sex development; gender development; gender identity; interests; natural experiments; peers; prenatal androgens; spatial abilities.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Visual depiction of the extent to which prenatal androgens masculinize human behavior, as revealed through studies of girls and women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Evidence is extracted from several reviews (Berenbaum & Beltz, 2011,; Pekins & Beltz, 2019), and focus on behaviors studied most extensively and recently replicated. Behaviors considered in this paper are nodes with thick black circles, the size of the nodes reflect the relative size of the effect (bigger nodes indicate larger effects), and the shading of the nodes reflects the strength of the evidence supporting the effect (darker shades of blue indicate greater evidence).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Schematic listing the implications of biological, including hormonal, influences on behavior, highlighting inferences biology does not permit.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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