Testosterone and the “Honor Culture” of Young Black Men

Participants in the “honor cultures” of poor black inner cities are hypersensitive to perceived insults to their personal reputations. In theory, this vigilance raises their testosterone (T), which in turn facilitates dominance contests that usually do not but may end violently. Two prior reports, using large datasets, show inordinately high T in young black men with low education, a cohort in which honor culture participants are presumed to be concentrated. However, a third study did not find this effect. Here, using a newer and very large dataset, the combined NHANES surveys from 2013-14 and 2015-16, mean T of young black men with low education is shown to be higher than that of comparable white or Hispanic men. Higher T appears among black males by late teenage. Females do not show the same pattern.