Urinary Catecholamines and Stress in Male and Female Police Cadets

Document Type

Article

Authors

Alison C. Pollack, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.
Horst D. Steklis, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.

Abstract

Urinary catecholamine levels in male and female State Police cadets were studied at monthly intervals over a five-month training period to compare responses to occupational stress. Under these closely matched conditions, the females were found to have significantly lower adrenaline levels than the males, as well as a smaller range of response. These differences were consistent for each of the five months. While there was a significant trend for female noradrenaline values to be higher than those for males across the five month period, female values were significantly higher than male values on only one of the five monthly test dates. There were no differences between males and females in range of noradrenaline excretion. These results suggest that compared to males, female urinary adrenaline levels are less reactive to stress. Moreover, this difference between males and females is not attributable to disparities in external stressors or social factors.

Recommended Citation

Pollack, Alison C. and Steklis, Horst D. (1986) "Urinary Catecholamines and Stress in Male and Female Police Cadets," Human Biology: Vol. 58: Iss. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol58/iss2/7