Within- and between-person variation in morning testosterone is associated with economic risk-related decisions in athletic women across the menstrual cycle

Abstract

Literature suggests that women experience ovulatory shifts in risk-taking behaviours across different domains, which might be partly attributed to changes in testosterone (T). Thus, we investigated associations between menstrual variability in T concentrations and economic risk-related decisions among athletic women. Thirty-five women were monitored across three consecutive menstrual cycles. Testing occurred on day seven (D7), 14 (D14) and 21 (D21) following the onset of menses. The morning (7 to 8\u202fam) assessment of salivary T (sal-T) and cortisol (sal-C) was followed by the economic Hawk-Dove game (11\u202fam to 12\u202fpm) played in pairs, where hawk decisions were used to index risk. Morning sal-T concentration increased from D7 to D14, before decreasing on D21 (p\u202f<\u202f0.001), representing moderate effect size (ES) changes of 0.6 to 0.8. Morning sal-C did not vary over time. Hawk choices paralleled the sal-T results, being elevated on D14 (p\u202f<\u202f0.001) with large ES changes of 1.8. Regression analyses revealed that morning sal-T concentration was positively related (p\u202f≤\u202f0.01) to the number of hawks chosen between- (beta\u202f=\u202f0.47) and within-participants (beta\u202f=\u202f0.10) when controlling for training hours and menstrual day. In summary, the risk-related choices of athletic women during a dyadic contest covaried with morning sal-T concentrations across the menstrual cycle. Both outcomes were positively correlated on a within- and between-person level. Confirming the major sources of T variation across the menstrual cycle, whilst discerning its relationship with other risk-related behaviours, would be worthwhile avenues for research.