2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 147470492110323
Author(s):  
Ray Garza ◽  
Farid Pazhoohi ◽  
Jennifer Byrd-Craven

Ecological conditions provide information about available resources for one’s environment. In humans, this has been shown to influence reproductive behavior, as individuals may engage in trade-offs between partner quality and investment. For instance, many women may trade-off preferences for men with physical features indicative of social dominance and health over physical features indicative of commitment and investment. The current study explored women’s preferences for formidable men under safe vs. harsh ecological conditions. Across three studies, U.S. university women ( N = 1,098) were randomly assigned to a perceived harsh or safe ecological condition. They were asked to rate the attractiveness of men’s body types (i.e., muscular vs. less muscular). Findings revealed that in general, women rated stronger men as more attractive than weaker men irrespective of the ecological condition. Evidence for preference as a function of ecology appeared only when a two-alternative forced-choice task was used (Study 3), but not in rating tasks (Studies 1 and 2). Study 3 showed that women had a relatively stronger preference for stronger men for short-term relationships in a resource scarce ecological condition. This research provides some evidence that perceived ecological conditions can drive women’s preferences for men with enhanced secondary sex characteristics as a function of mating context. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating the importance of physical characteristics in men’s attractiveness, and it adds to the existing literature on ecological factors and mating preferences.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1958 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-400
Author(s):  
John W. Huffman ◽  
Elsie Wieczorowski

THE DISCUSSANTS began the round table with a few general comments concerning various phases of development of the female. At birth and for the first week or more of life, the effects of maternal hormones on the newborn infant may be evidenced by hypertrophy of the breasts, prominence of the genitalia with nonpurulent vaginal secretion and occasional uterine bleeding. Throughout the remainder of infancy, until late childhood, there are no changes in the genitalia, and the mucosa of the vagina remains shrunken, producing little or no secretion. From the period of late childhood to early adolescence—that phase extending from the first menstrual period until the onset of ovulation—secondary sex characteristics develop and the vaginal mucosa undergoes cornification, becomes succulent and produces an increased quantity of secretion. Late adolescence is defined as that phase from the first ovulation to full maturity. The phases of adolescence are never clearly demarcated. Certain pathologic conditions commonly seen in female children were then described. The relative incidence of these conditions as seen in a special clinic reflects their incidence in a general pediatric practice. Nonspecific Vulvovaginitis The majority of children (75%) are referred to the gynecologic clinic because of vulvovaginitis. Of these, 75% are found to have nonspecific vulvovaginitis. Etiologic agents and their relative incidence in the remainder of patients are: monilia, 15%; foreign body, 5%; and infections due to trichomonas, gonococcus and pinworms, 5%. Children under 10 years of age are most commonly affected. Those found to have vulvovaginitis due to fungi have usually given a history of recent antibiotic therapy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 800-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Pereira ◽  
German Iñiguez ◽  
Camila Corvalan ◽  
Verónica Mericq

Context: Premature adrenarche (PA) has been associated with increased metabolic risk. Objective: To describe the risk of precocious thelarche (PT; <8 years), pubarche (PP; girls <8 years, boys <9 years), and gonadarche (PG; <9 years) in children with high dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS [HD]) vs those with normal DHEAS (ND). Setting and Intervention: Longitudinal Chilean cohort (n = 1052, 49.9% girls). Annual clinical examination including secondary sex characteristics by Tanner staging. Logistic regression models were adjusted by age and BMI. Main Outcome: Assess the relationship between DHEAS and premature thelarche, gonadarche, and pubarche in both sexes. Results: At age of DHEAS determination, overweight/obesity was present in 44.3% of boys and 42.9% of girls. Incidences of any precocious event were observed in 17.2% of boys and in 25.4% of girls, presented as 8.7% of PG and 8.5% of PP in boys and as 21.3% of PT and 4.1% of PP in girls. In crude and adjusted models in boys, HD did not increase the risk of earlier pubertal events. Conversely, girls with HD had a 2.6 times greater risk of early thelarche and a three times greater risk of early pubarche compared with girls with ND concentrations. Conclusion: In Chilean adolescents, precocious events of pubertal development were in line with the worldwide secular trend of earlier sexual maturation. HD was only associated with PT and PP in girls. Continuous follow-up of this cohort is a unique opportunity to prospectively address and analyze the interrelationships among HD, early growth, and adiposity as determinants of gonadarche, pubertal rate/sequence progression, and ovarian function.


1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie R Miles-Richardson ◽  
Vincent J Kramer ◽  
Scott D Fitzgerald ◽  
James A Render ◽  
Behzad Yamini ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 159 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S9-S15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eveline M Delemarre ◽  
Bram Felius ◽  
Henriette A Delemarre-van de Waal

Puberty is the result of increasing pulsatile secretion of the hypothalamic gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), which stimulates the release of gonadotropins and in turn gonadal activity.In general in females, development of secondary sex characteristics due to the activity of the gonadal axis, i.e., the growth of breasts, is the result of exposure to estrogens, while in boys testicular growth is dependent on gonadotropins and virilization on androgens.Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is a rare disease. More common is the clinical picture of delayed puberty, often associated with a delay of growth and more often familial occurring. Especially, boys are referred because of the delay of growth and puberty. A short course (3–6 months) of androgens may help these boys to overcome the psychosocial repercussions, and during this period an increase in the velocity of height growth and some virilization will occur.Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism may present in a congenital form caused by developmental disorders, some of which are related to a genetic disorder, or secondary to hypothalamic–pituitary dysfunction due to, among others, a cerebral tumor.In hypogonadotropic hypogonadism puberty can be initiated by the use of pulsatile GnRH, gonadotropins, and sex steroids. Sex steroids will induce development of the secondary sex characteristics alone, while combined administration of gonadotropins and GnRH may induce gonadal development including fertility.


1992 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M Hutson ◽  
Marilyn L Baker ◽  
Amanda L Griffiths ◽  
Yoshitaka Momose ◽  
Day Way Goh ◽  
...  

Before sexual differentiation occurs at seven weeks, the urological ridges develop in the embryo. These contain the primitive gonads, the mesonephros (embryonic kidneys) and the paired Wolffian (mesonephric) ducts, along with the Müllerian (paramesonephric) ducts. The fundamental mechanism of fetal sexual development was elucidated by Alfred Jost and is determined by the development of the gonad: where testes form in response to the testis-determining gene, and the male testicular hormones cause development of the male phenotype. If ovaries develop or the gonads are absent, female secondary sex characteristics are produced. Recently, the cloning of the putative human testis-determining gene on the Y-chromosome was reported. Assuming this is the true controller of testicular development, an understanding of the initiation of sexual differentiation at the genetic level should emerge in the near future. Of great importance will be the isolation of the testis-determining gene product and identification of other genes that it regulates.


1994 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric B. Hoie ◽  
Scott A. Swigart ◽  
Robert M. Nelson ◽  
M. Patricia Leuschen

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