FURTHER EVIDENCE OF AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN LOW SECOND-TO-FOURTH DIGIT RATIO (2D:4D) AND SELECTION FOR THE UNIFORMED SERVICES: A STUDY AMONG POLICE PERSONNEL IN WROCŁAW, POLAND

摘要

Males and females differ in their preference for occupations andsporting activities, and differ also in risk-taking attitudes. In addition to otherexplanations, prenatal hormone exposure has been implicated in these genderassociateddifferences. The ratio of the relative lengths of the second-to-fourthdigits (2D:4D) is a proxy indicator of prenatal exposure to testosteronerelative to oestrogen. The 2D:4D ratio has been found to be associated withchoice of occupation, particularly among females. This study investigatedwhether 2D:4D differed between police officers and a control group ofcivilians in Wrocław, Poland. Participants were 147 male and 55 femalepolice officers and 91 male and 75 female civilian controls. The police officershad to undergo rigorous physical ability tests during recruitment and theirjob bore relatively higher risk, whereas the controls had a normal civilianlifestyle. Height, weight, hand grip strength and lengths of the second andfourth digits were measured. Analyses of variance and covariance wereemployed to assess the significance of difference in digit ratio between groups(police officers and civilians) allowing for interaction with sex. The policewomen,compared with the female controls, were taller and had strongerhand grip strength, but had lower 2D:4D in the right hand and average2D:4D of both hands. However, male and female police officers slightlydiffered only in the right hand digit ratio but not in the left hand ratio or theaverage for the two hands. However, the control group showed significant sexdifferences in all digit ratios with higher (feminine) mean values in females.The study provides further evidence that prenatal testosterone exposure, asreflected in the 2D:4D ratio, might have an association with choice of occupation,particularly among females.