There was much excitement in the mass media when two American researchers produced findings that suggested men with high levels of testosterone were less likely to marry and more likely to divorce. In their study, men who divorced had elevated testosterone levels before and after divorce. The testosterone levels of men who married during the decade of the study fell as they made the transition from bachelor to married man. Much speculation was triggered by this report. But there are other, less simplistic possibilities.
Stress can result in high testosterone levels.
It has been suggested that for men marital status is less stressful than being single. Single men are more likely than their married counterparts to encounter confrontation and difficulty. This is exactly the sort of situation in which testosterone might be expected to rise. Divorce would likewise be expected to be accompanied by persistently high testosterone levels. Laboratory male mice, exposed to new females, with or without physical contact, manifest a rise in testosterone.