Women who commit violent crimes and show aggressive dominance in prison are more likely to have high levels of testosterone than other female inmates. The study shows that testosterone in females has much the same effect as it has in males. In the context of prison, women are more dominant and tended to have committed violent crimes.

Levels of testosterone in women "are much lower than in men, maybe a tenth of the levels in men. But among (women) themselves, they are equally varied in that in some women, the levels may be twice as high as in others, as in some men they are twice as high as others. The new findings are similar to those in recent studies of male prison inmates in which testosterone levels were highest among men convicted of violent crimes such as rape, homicide, assault. As inmates they also violated more prison rules.

Psychosomatic Medicine Sept/Oct 1997;59

INSIGHT: This study should be reviewed by any woman who is taking the over the counter hormone supplement DHEA which can be converted to testosertone. DHEA should not be routintely used as a supplement unless one's DHEA and testosterone levels are monitored very carefully.