Rolf Degen summarizing... A happy love life requires a hormonal balancing act because testosterone levels must be high or low at the right point in time

Testosterone tradeoffs in close relationships. Robin S. Edelstein. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, December 13 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2021.11.004

Abstract: Research on testosterone has long been dominated by a focus on “high testosterone” behaviors, such as aggression, competition, and dominance. The vast majority of this work, including in humans, has also been conducted in exclusively male samples, based in part on presumed links between testosterone and masculinity. Yet testosterone is implicated in many psychological and interpersonal processes for both men and women, and “low testosterone” behaviors may be particularly critical for ongoing close relationships. This fairly narrow focus on high testosterone, in men, leaves major gaps in our understanding of the social neuroendocrinology of close relationships, particularly as related to positive processes like caregiving, support-seeking, and intimacy. The goal of this review is to integrate the literature on testosterone in close relationships, in both men and women, with an eye toward closeness, intimacy, and other positive processes that likely contribute to and are supported by individual differences in testosterone and changes in testosterone over time. I focus on testosterone in the context of romantic and parent-child relationships, and highlight directions for future research that can help to fill important gaps in this literature. Further, I argue that, because close relationships are inherently dynamic and dyadic, longitudinal research that includes both men and women, and ideally both couple members, is critical for a complete understanding of the role of testosterone in close relationship processes.

Keywords: HormonesRomantic relationshipsParent-child relationshipsDyadicLongitudinal

Orthorexia nervosa (fixation on food purity, involving ritualized eating patterns & a rigid avoidance of “unhealthy foods”) seems not a new disorder but rather a new cultural manifestation of anorexia nervosa, fostered by the rise in diet culture and healthism

Cultural Shifts in the Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa: The case of orthorexia nervosa. Anushua Bhattacharya et al. Appetite, December 12 2021, 105869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105869

Abstract: Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is a term describing a fixation on food purity, involving ritualized eating patterns and a rigid avoidance of “unhealthy foods.” Those self-identified as having ON tend to focus on food composition and feel immense guilt after eating food deemed “unhealthy.” Although not formally recognized as a psychiatric disorder by the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), ON has received increasing attention since its identification in 1997. There is ongoing work to establish diagnostic and empirical tools for measuring ON; embedded in this is the question as to whether or not ON is a new eating disorder. In this paper, we argue ON is not a new psychiatric disorder but rather a new cultural manifestation of anorexia nervosa (AN). We begin by providing an overview of historical representations and classification of eating disorders, with a specific focus on AN. This is followed by discussion of the rise in diet culture and healthism since the 19th century. We conclude by examining the diagnostic validity and utility of ON through a discussion of empirical evidence. Classifying ON under the diagnostic umbrella of AN may improve our understanding of factors underlying restrictive eating behaviors.

Keywords: Orthorexia nervosaAnorexia nervosaHealthy eatingEating disorders