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Physical touch during father-infant interactions is associated with paternal oxytocin levels

Alyssa R Morris1, Alexandra Turner1, Chase H Gilbertson1

  • 1University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

Infant Behavior & Development
|July 26, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Fathers' playful touch with their infants is linked to higher oxytocin levels. This study compared two oxytocin measurement methods, finding that playful touch associations largely held with both methods.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Human Development

Background:

  • Parent-infant physical touch is crucial for infant well-being and bonding.
  • Physical touch is known to stimulate oxytocin release.
  • Previous studies show discrepancies between different oxytocin immunoassay methods.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if fathers' micro-coded touch behaviors predict subsequent oxytocin levels.
  • To compare two common oxytocin immunoassay methods for reliability.

Main Methods:

  • 45 fathers and their 6-month-old infants participated in a lab-based free-play interaction.
  • Fathers' physical touch was micro-coded at 1/10 s intervals.
  • Paternal oxytocin was measured using blood plasma, processed with and without an extraction step.

Main Results:

  • A moderate correlation was found between unextracted and extracted oxytocin measurements.
  • More playful proprioceptive touch by fathers was associated with higher oxytocin levels (both methods).
  • Gentle affectionate and functional proprioceptive touch predicted higher unextracted oxytocin but not extracted oxytocin.

Conclusions:

  • Physical touch, especially playful proprioceptive touch, is associated with elevated paternal oxytocin.
  • Findings largely replicate previous research using unextracted oxytocin.
  • The study extends previous work by demonstrating that many touch-oxytocin associations persist with the more rigorous extraction method.
Abstract

Keywords:
FathersOxytocinPhysical contactPostpartumTouch

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