Five sex-steroid hormones (testosterone, androstenedione, estradiol, estrone, and progesterone) were assayed in umbilical cord blood. Cognitive abilities were assessed as a part of a 6-year follow-up laboratory visit. Four subtests were given: reading, numbers, listening, and spatial ability. There were no significant differences between boys and girls in cognitive ability scores. Higher levels of perinatal androgens (testosterone and androstenedione) were significantly associated with low age-6 spatial ability in girls. Multiple regression analyses revealed a significant proportion of the variance in cognitive abilities in girls could be accounted for by testosterone and androstenedione. No significant predictions were found for boys. The finding of a stable inverse association between sex and effect of hormones on abilities is discussed.
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Jacklin et al. (1988) studied this question.
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