Table 4.

Example Evidence of the Effects of Early Life Adversity on Males’ Hormones

Citation	Study Design	Species	N	Early Life Adversity (ELA)			Key Findings
				Type	Timing	Measure
Testosterone (T) (Pascual-Sagastizabal et al., 2014; Sarma et al., 2018; Siegeler et al., 2013; Simmons et al., 2015; Veenema et al., 2006; Zito et al., 2017)
Zito et al., 2017	E, P	Zebra finches	84	Nutritional stress	3–33 days post hatching	N/A	Male chicks had higher plasma T than controls at day 60
Siegeler et al., 2013	E, P	Wild cavies	24	Maternal exposure to social instability	Up to 20 days (weaning)	N/A	Male offspring had delayed increases in plasma T around adolescence compared to controls, but no differences in adulthood
Veenema et al., 2006	E, P	Rats	15	Maternal separation	Up to day 14	N/A	As adults, males exposed to maternal separation exhibited reduced plasma T in response to stress compared with basal T levels
Sarma et al., 2018	L	Humans	417	Death of a sibling or paternal instability	Birth to age 11.5 years	PR	Higher elevated waking T observed in fathers who experienced sibling death and who had younger age at sexual debut. New fathers who experienced paternal instability and who had younger age at sexual debut had declines in waking T compared to other new fathers.
Pascual-Sagastizabal et al., 2014	CS	Humans	159	Parenting (including corporal punishment)	8 years old	PR	Among 8 year-olds, high T was associated with physical aggression, but only among boys with authoritarian mothers
Simmons et al., 2015	L	Humans	89	Maltreatment, maternal aggression, stressful life events	Birth to age 14	RSR, O	Relationship between cortisol and testosterone at age 15 was positive for males with maternal aggression observed at age 12
Oxytocin (OT) (Bales & Perkeybile, 2012; Lukas & Clutton-Brock, 2013; Mizuki & Fujiwara, 2015; Opacka-Juffry & Mohiyeddini, 2012; Seltzer et al., 2014)
Lukas et al., 2010	E, P	Rats	95	Maternal separation	Up to day 14	N/A	Male rats exposed to maternal separation exhibit reduced OT receptor expression in multiple brain regions across development compared to controls
Bales and Perkeybile, 2012	Review	Mice, rats, and prairie voles	varies	Single mothers or mothers showing reduced care	Varies by study and species	N/A	Rearing by single mothers or mothers showing reduced care associated with reduced OT receptor expression in many brain regions as adults
Opacka-Juffry & Mohiyeddini, 2012	CS	Humans	90	Stressful childhood experiences	Up to age 12	RSR	In adult males, lower plasma OT was associated with stressful experiences in childhood, but OT not associated with adolescent or recent stressful life events
Mizuki & Fujiwara, 2015	CS	Humans	80	Maltreatment	Birth to age 16 years	RSR	Childhood physical abuse associated with increased urinary OT among parents of children age 18–48 months, and association was stronger among males
Seltzer et al., 2014	CS	Humans	73	Physical abuse	Birth to present age (8 to 11 years)	CPS	In children, females with physical abuse history had higher urinary OT in response to a stressors compared to controls. Males with physical abuse history did not differ from controls.
Fries et al, 2005	CS	Humans	18	Extreme neglect	Infancy	O	Basal OT levels did not differ between children exposed to neglect and controls. After contact with their mother, OT levels increased for control children but not for children exposed to neglect. Sex differences not examined.
Vasopressin (AVP) (Lukas & Clutton-Brock, 2013; Tabak et al., 2015)
Lukas et al., 2010	E, P	Rats	95	Maternal separation	Up to day 14	N/A	Male rats exposed to maternal separation exhibit reduced AVP receptor expression in multiple various brain regions across development
Tabak et al., 2015	RCT	Humans	125	Lack of parental warmth	Up to age 16 years	RSR	AVP administration associated with greater empathic concern after viewing distressing and uplifting videos for individuals who reported more paternal warmth in childhood. No sexspecific effects.
Fries et al, 2005	CS	Humans	18	Extreme neglect	Infancy	O	Basal AVP levels were lower in children exposed to neglect compared to controls. Sex differences not examined. Sex differences not examined.
Glucocorticoids (Desantis et al., 2011; Kaess et al., 2018; Miller et al., 2017; Negriff et al., 2015; Pauli-Pott et al., 2017; Plotsky & Meaney, 1993; Wang et al., 2012)
Plotsky & Meaney, 1993	E, P	Rodents	30	Maternal separation	Postnatal days 2–14	N/A	Adult male rats exposed to long separations had increased plasma corticosterone responses to stress compared to male rats exposed to daily handling.
Wang et al., 2012	E, P	Mandarin voles	35	Paternal deprivation (removal of father at birth)	Up to postnatal day 21 (weaning)	N/A	Paternal deprivation associated with higher serum corticosterone levels in juvenile males
Negriff et al., 2015	L	Humans	454	Maltreatment	Birth to present age (9 to 13 years)	CPS	Childhood maltreatment history associated with lower salivary cortisol in response to an experimental stressor, but only among males
Miller, et al., 2017	P, L	Humans	99	Life stress (e.g. family death, financial problems)	Age 10 to 13 years	SR	Life stress in early adolescence was associated with attenuated CAR in late adolescence (16 to 19 years), but only among males.
Kaess, et al., 2018	L	Humans	69	Maltreatment	Up to age 14 to 16 years	RSR	Maltreatment history was associated with decreased CAR, but only among females.
Desantis et al., 2011	CS	Humans	39	Early life trauma (e.g. maltreatment, natural disaster)	Birth to age 18	RSR	In adults, ELA was positively associated with baseline serum corticotropin in females but negatively associated with baseline corticotropin in males. No sex differences in corticotropin response to an experimental stressor.
Pauli-Pott et al., 2017	CS	Humans	122	Family adversity (e.g. overcrowded living)	Up to present age (4 to 5 years)	PR	ADHD symptoms were associated with lower hair cortisol levels among males, but only when family adversity was high

Note: CAR, Cortisol Awakening Response; ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Study Design: E=Experimental, P=Prospective, L=Longitudinal, CS=Cross-sectional

ELA Measure: CPS=Child Protective Services records; PR=Parent report; RSR=Retrospective self-report; O=observation