6 Comments

Joe DeVet
September 13th, 2011 | 10:07 am

Fatherhood leads to drop in testosterone?!?!?!

Good grief! No wonder I feel so girly.

– Octodad

Blake
September 13th, 2011 | 11:36 am

Fatherhood leads to drop in testosterone?!?!?!

Good grief! No wonder I feel so girly.

Wonder if that has anything to do with studies showing that children are more likely to be abused by stepfathers than biological fathers.

It could be that when a man becomes a father, his biology changes – possibly in many subtle ways.

I find that an intriguing speculation.

Brian
September 13th, 2011 | 1:23 pm

“studies showing that children are more likely to be abused by stepfathers than biological fathers.”

Isn’t that easily interpreted as those who want to abuse children seeking out situations in which they have access to one?

Jay
September 13th, 2011 | 1:55 pm

Why is the Wall Street Journal giving Feisal Abdul Rauf a platform to speak from? There are other moderate Muslim voices, why persist with Rauf as the “bridge builder”?

I fail to understand how Rauf speaks for peace when he cannot even condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Resources:

Why They Can’t Condemn Hamas
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/245004/why-they-can-t-condemn-hamas-andrew-c-mccarthy

Wrong on Rauf
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/257438/wrong-rauf-andrew-c-mccarthy?page=2

Blake
September 13th, 2011 | 3:35 pm

Isn’t that easily interpreted as those who want to abuse children seeking out situations in which they have access to one?

There’s actually a lot of information available about who abuses, why they abuse, and what stops abuse.

Pedophiles might seek out homes as you describe, but they’re a special case. I was referring to violence, which tends to be very different in nature – less premeditated and more impulse-driven.

To give you an idea: when last I checked, it was still believed that the single most effective approach to dealing with most domestic abuse involves something called “cognitive behavioral therapy”, which is basically a particular approach to teaching anger management, stress management, communication skills, and self-awareness. These are the traits most associated with abuse, and most abusers do not intend to be abusive.

Raymond Takashi Swenson
September 13th, 2011 | 7:11 pm

The article cites another study which indicated increasing testosterone among men when they divorced, apparently related to their decision to end their marriages. That in turn cites studies stating that married men are far less likely to be involved in criminal behavior and violence.

At the end of World War II, when US military forces were required for the first time to maintain garrisons in Europe, the commanders decided that it would help reduce disciplinary problems if married soldiers could have their wives living with them. They hoped that the presence of families on military bases would also priovide for even single soldiers a more home-like atmosphere and make it easier for soldiers away from home to act in a more civilized fashion. These studies indicate that married men are literally “domesticated” in the biological influences on their behavior. This may also be directly related to the fact that married men live longer and healthier lives in general than single and divorced men.

It also raises interesting questions about the millions of men in Chinia who have no prospect of ever getting married, because of differential abortion of female babies. All those uncommitted single men are running around with their excess testosterone unchecked.