Is The Pill Changing Your Behavior? Here's What The Science Says



The US Food and Drug Administration authorized the first hormonal birth control method (the "pill") in 1960.

Today, more than 100 million people use hormonal contraceptives every day and they are among the most often prescribed medications in the world.

These medications work by injecting artificial hormones into the circulation to prevent conception. Synthetic hormones inhibit the body's natural hormones from triggering ovulation, preventing the release of eggs, preventing fertilization, and preventing pregnancy.

According to research, hormones that are produced naturally have a significant impact on both human and animal behavior. The behavioral consequences of synthetic hormones, such as those in the pill, are less well understood.

Competitive behavior is associated with some of the hormones that the tablet affects. We analyzed all the available literature on hormonal contraceptives and competitive behavior in order to learn more about how they affect this behavior.

Life includes competition. To meet our needs and increase our chances of survival and success, we compete for a variety of resources like cash, food, partners, and allies.

These resources might also be immaterial elements that grant us access to more concrete items, including social standing. A person with high status might, for instance, have more chances for employment and education.

Three hormones—testosterone, progesterone, and an estrogen subtype called estradiol—that have been associated with competitive behavior are directly impacted by hormonal contraceptives.

We examined 46 research with a total of 16,290 people to comprehend the impact of hormonal contraceptives on competition. This was the only published study with a competition measure that was readily available.

Our review revealed, among other things, that hormonal contraceptives might affect women's drive and capacity for status advancement.

An effect of lower accomplishment motivation is demonstrated by one study.

According to another study, people perform worse on tasks that require tenacity. This is troubling because proving one's ability or mastery is a common way for people to advance in status.

The pill might have an impact on mate-selection competition. According to recent research, naturally menstruating women feel more attractive and desirable in the middle of their cycles, whereas hormonal contraception users do not.

This shows that hormonal contraceptives lessen an increase in perceptions of desirability brought on by fertility, which probably drives sexual behavior.

The type of males that hormonal contraception users are attracted to are not significantly different from those who do not use them, according to our research. Additionally, there was no proof that users behave differently from non-users while competing for financial resources.

It's interesting to note that the participants' relationship status affected how hormonal contraceptives affected mating and status-based competitiveness. For instance, one study found that women in relationships but not solitary women experienced a decrease in self-reported competitiveness when using hormonal contraceptives.

This could indicate that synthetic hormones affect single and coupled women differently. On the other hand, it can also imply that there are other distinctions between single and coupled women that affect these behaviors.

It's crucial to highlight that there were often very little behavioral changes between people who use hormonal contraceptives and others who don't.

Another finding from our assessment was the significant methodological flaws that affect a large portion of the available research on the impact of hormonal contraceptives.

The gold standard for evaluating the effectiveness of a specific drug or treatment, randomized controlled trials, were only applied in one of the papers we examined.

A lot of the research we looked at also failed to take into account other distinctions between hormonal contraception users and non-users, like age. These variables could account for behavioral variations without the use of hormones or hormonal contraception.

It is challenging to extrapolate findings from many studies to a larger population due to the limited sample sizes. Particularly, non-white women were notably underrepresented in this study.

A lot of the studies also failed to mention the different hormonal contraceptive methods that people used. Because of this, it is impossible to say whether all contraceptive methods have the same effects.

The results of our review are only preliminary due to these constraints.

What should I do next?

Hormonal contraceptives have been used widely for 60 years, yet their effects remain poorly understood. In addition to birth control, they are also used to treat hormone imbalances, diminish the signs of endometriosis and acne, and lessen premenstrual symptoms.

For both individuals and society as a whole, access to effective contraception provides enormous advantages. It is linked to greater female enrollment in higher education, a narrower salary gap, and a decrease in female poverty.

We require trustworthy and solid evidence about the full impacts of hormonal contraceptives in order to ensure that women can make knowledgeable decisions about their own bodies.

We have the right to birth control, but we also have the right to better birth control, to paraphrase American filmmaker Sindha Agha. It will necessitate much research. The Discussion

Kathleen Casto, an assistant psychology professor at New College of Florida, Lindsie Arthur, a doctoral candidate at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at The University of Melbourne, and Khandis R. Blake, a lecturer in psychology at The University of Melbourne

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