See my notes below.  -rw

>From Science News, Vol. 163, No. 3, Jan. 18, 2003, p. 36.
>
>Testosterone's Family Ties:
>Hormone-linked problems reflect parent-child bond
>
>Bruce Bower
>
>Testosterone has a public reputation as the hormone that turns men
>into boisterous louts at best, and violent criminals at worst.
>
>New evidence is challenging that. Witness a new study that finds
>no link between testosterone concentrations and either delinquent
>behavior or depression in children and teenagers of both sexes that
>is, if relations with parents are close.
>
>The behavior and mood problems traditionally blamed on testosterone
>most often appear in boys and girls with poor parental relations,
>says sociologist Alan Booth of Pennsylvania State University in
>State College. In the new study, high-testosterone boys who related
>well to their mothers engaged in far fewer delinquent acts than
>low-testosterone boys who got on poorly with their mothers, Booth
>and his colleagues report in the January Developmental Psychology.
>
>"Children's testosterone levels create behavioral predispositions
>that get modified by the quality of parent-child relationships,"
>Booth theorizes.
>
>As a hormone that shapes masculine physical features, testosterone
>occurs in small amounts in females and much larger amounts in males.
>Among men, many studies have associated high testosterone concentrations
>with aggressive and risk-taking behaviors and low testosterone
>concentrations with depression. However, some studies have failed
>to find links between men's testosterone levels and behavior or
>mood problems. Only a few studies have addressed this issue in women
>or in children.
>
>The new investigation by Booth's group focused on 400 middle-class
>families in Pennsylvania. All the parents and 608 children, ages 6
>to 18, were interviewed and provided saliva samples for testosterone
>analysis. The researchers defined a good parent-child relationship
>as one in which the parent knew about and approved of the child's
>activities, the parent participated in activities with the child,
>and the child reported feeling close to the parent.
>
>An intriguing sex difference emerged for youngsters with poor
>parental relationships. Among these boys of all ages, those with
>high testosterone concentrations were most prone to delinquency,
>illicit-drug use, and other risky behaviors. Yet, among girls, risky
>behaviors most often appeared in those between ages 10 and 14 and
>with low testosterone concentrations.
>
>Moreover, low testosterone concentrations were linked to symptoms
>of depression in boys of all ages who related poorly to their
>mothers. The same association emerged for girls only between ages
>14 and 18 who had a poor relationship with their fathers.
>
>Reasons for these sex disparities are unclear, Booth says. Larger
>studies should examine testosterone's link to behavior at various
>ages, he adds.
>
>Besides revisiting testosterone's bad reputation, researchers need
>to probe for beneficial behaviors linked to the hormone, remarks
>sociologist Allan Mazur of Syracuse (N.Y.) University. "Under the
>right social conditions, high testosterone levels may help to produce
>our leaders," Mazur says. "No one has studied this possibility."
>
>**************** If you have a comment on this article that you
>would like considered for publication in Science News, please send
>it to editors@sciencenews.org.
>
>References:
>
>Booth, A., et al. 2003. Testosterone and child and adolescent
>adjustment: The moderating role of parent-child relationships.
>Developmental Psychology 39(January):85-98. Abstract available at
>http://www.apa.org/journals/dev/103ab.html#7.
>
>Sources:
>
>Alan Booth
>Department of Sociology
>Pennsylvania State University
>513 Oswald Tower
>University Park, PA 16802-6207
>
>Allan Mazur
>Public Affairs Program
>Syracuse University
>Syracuse, NY 13244

They're determined to pathologize maleness.  Why?  Is this a way
for doctors to posture as being more "civilized" than other men,
so they can get more women in bed?  Or does it serve to medicalize
a social problem so doctors can increase their market?  Or does it
just allow these researchers to write an important-sounding paper
about nothing in particular, which asks the wrong questions and
avoids the obvious conclusions?

"High-testosterone boys who related well to their mothers engaged
in far fewer delinquent acts than low-testosterone boys who got on
poorly with their mothers"

This indicates that the overwhelmingly dominant factor
is the boy's relationship with his mother.  The only hormone
dependency is within the "poor parent-child bond" group.
Why then doesn't the headline read:
"Delinquency reflects problems in parent-child bond"  ??????

"among girls, risky behaviors most often appeared in those between
ages 10 and 14 and with low testosterone concentrations"

Ok, so did they ask the obvious question and test whether the low
testosterone girls had high estrogen levels?  Of course not, the
problem is testosterone, not estrogen ...

"Under the right social conditions, high testosterone levels may
help to produce our leaders"

Gee, a silver lining after all ... here we see doctors' only
picture of a worthy man: an authority figure. 
Kinda like doctors ... what a surprise.

http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?query=sociopath&action=Search+OMD
Sociopath:
Former designation for a person with an antisocial personality type
of disorder.

http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?antisocial+personality
Antisocial personality disorder:
A personality disorder characterised by a continuous and persistent
pattern of aggressive behaviour in which the rights of others are
violated.