Kalista Meulenbeek, Iro Fragkaki, Flavia Spagnuolo, Luca Frankenberger, & Maaike Cima
Aggression in youth remains a major public health concern, often associated with long-term societal challenges (Hendriks et al., 2018). Although the underpinnings of youth aggression are multifaceted, including personality and contextual factors (Chen et al., 2023; Jones et al., 2011), hormonal dynamics have also been recognized for their influence (Guthman & Falkner, 2022). Understanding the neuroendocrine mechanisms behind youth aggression can help inform effective prevention and intervention strategies. Our study explored the interplay between oxytocin and cortisol in aggressive adolescents, with particular attention to the role of childhood trauma.
Hormones and aggression: Not a one-way street
Oxytocin is widely known for its role in social bonding and prosocial behaviors, often referred to as the “love hormone” (Carter, 2021). However, emerging evidence indicates that the effects oxytocin are not universally prosocial but rather highly context-dependent (Baettig et al., 2019). Specifically, oxytocin appears to enhance the salience of social cues, which can facilitate either prosocial or antisocial behavior depending on the context. For instance, in threatening or hostile contexts, oxytocin may actually exacerbate aggression by amplifying negative social stimuli (Leppanen et al., 2017; Shamay-Tsoory & Abu-Akel, 2016). This context-dependent role is further supported by studies reporting both elevated and reduced oxytocin levels association to aggression, reflecting variability across different psychosocial conditions (Alcorn III et al., 2015; Diaz-Marsá et al., 2024; Mitchell et al., 2013).
Oxytocinergic activity in aggressive youth may thus be dependent on other factors, such as environmental or biological influences of childhood trauma and cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that helps manage stress and is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is the body’s stress response system. A key factor that can disrupt the regulation of neuroendocrine systems is early life stress, such as exposure to childhood trauma. In particular, chronic stress, such as recent trauma exposure, can lead to dysregulation of the HPA axis, which can result in hypercortisolism and elevated oxytocin levels to manage the experienced stress (Fragkaki et al., 2018). As such, a positive interplay between cortisol and oxytocin is expected in aggressive adolescents with experiences of childhood trauma.
New research
In our study, we investigated the hormonal dynamics of 57 male adolescents from two residential youth care facilities. Adolescents enter these facilities after a court order due to behavioral problems, most frequently aggressive and delinquent behavior. We found that adolescents who reported more traumatic experiences from their childhood showed a positive interplay between cortisol and oxytocin, while this association was not found in those who reported lower levels of childhood trauma.
Clinical and public health information
This finding suggests that the experience of trauma may alter hormonal interplay, potentially pointing toward a compensatory mechanism whereby oxytocin increases to cope with the stress-related elevations in cortisol levels. This finding underscores the importance of considering trauma history when trying to disentangle the neuroendocrine underpinnings of youth aggression. This information may be useful to identify individuals at risk and possibly inform the development of effective interventions or treatments for aggression, such as pharmacological interventions to help find optimal hormonal balances in case of possible mutual dysregulation (Li et al., 2019).
About the Authors
Kalista Meulenbeek, MSc., is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Developmental Psychopathology at the Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. She can be contacted for questions or comments related to this study at kalista.meulenbeek@ru.nl.
Iro Fragkaki, Ph.D., is a psychologist, researcher, and lecturer. She holds a Ph.D. in Biological and Developmental Psychopathology from Radboud University and a Master's in Clinical and Developmental Psychopathology (MSc) from VU University Amsterdam.
Flavia Spagnuolo, MSc., is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Developmental Psychopathology at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Luca Frankenberger is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Developmental Psychopathology at the Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Maaike Cima, Ph.D., is a Professor of Forensic Child Development at Radboud University, the Netherlands, where her research focuses on promoting prosocial behavior to prevent the development of antisocial tendencies in children and adolescents. Additionally, she serves as the chair of the foundation Ventio, which designs and implements prevention programs aimed at fostering positive development in children.
Reference Article
Meulenbeek, K., Fragkaki, I., Spagnuolo, F., Frankenberger, L., & Cima, M. (2025). The interplay between cortisol and oxytocin in aggressive adolescents: The role of trauma. Journal of traumatic stress, 10.1002/jts.23161. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.23161
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