1. Is digit ratio (2D:4D) associated with a religious profession? An exploratory study on male Polish seminary students
- Author
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Kociuba , Marek, Kulik, Tomasz, Chakraborty, Raja, Ignasiak, Zofia, Rokita, Andrzej, Koziel, Slawomir, Kociuba , Marek - Department of Physical Education, Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland, Kulik, Tomasz - Department of Anthropology, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland, Chakraborty, Raja - Department of Anthropology and Tribal Studies, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal, India, Ignasiak, Zofia - Faculty of Physical Education, University School of Physical Education, Wroclaw, Poland, Rokita, Andrzej - Faculty of Physical Education, University School of Physical Education, Wroclaw, Poland, Koziel, Slawomir - Department of Anthropology, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland, Kociuba , Marek - marekkociuba@wp.pl, Kulik, Tomasz - tomras@poczta.fm, Chakraborty, Raja - rajanth2003@yahoo.co.uk, Ignasiak, Zofia - zofia.ignasiak@awf.wroc.pl, Rokita, Andrzej - andrzej.rokita@awf.wroc.pl, and Koziel, Slawomir - slawomir.koziel@hirszfeld.pl
- Subjects
Health (social science) ,Anthropology ,foetal androgen ,occupation ,4D [2D] ,prenatal testosterone ,religiosity ,digit ratio - Abstract
Human females demonstrate higher religiosity than men in populations. Digit ratio (2D:4D), being a putative indicator of prenatal testosterone, is associated in varying degrees with characters that show sexual dimorphism. A small number of studies have indicated that religiosity may be associated with the biological basis of sex differences in humans. The objective of the present study was to ascertain whether 2D:4D in religiously oriented seminary students is different from individuals in other occupations. The study followed a cross-sectional design. Male participants of the study included 13 seminary students, 18 military chaplains and 91 control students from study courses relating to civil occupations. Lengths of second (2D) and fourth (4D) digits and their ratio (2D:4D) for each hand, height and weight were the variables and 2D:4D was the outcome measure. The results demonstrated that the seminary students had significantly higher 2D:4D than both the military chaplains and civil students. The military chaplains had the lowest 2D:4D. The study also revealed that the choice of religious occupation, and for that matter, religiosity, could be linked with the prenatal hormonal environment, particularly lower intrauterine testosterone compared to oestrogen.
- Published
- 2022
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