Metabolic & Cardiometabolic
anabolic-androgenic steroids increases aggression and anxiety
In plain terms: Do anabolic steroids increase aggression and anxiety?
Part of: 💊 anabolic-androgenic steroids
Only partly — controlled testosterone trials find increased aggression/anxiety in a minority at high doses, not uniformly; the blanket 'roid rage' framing runs ahead of the controlled evidence, even though heavy real-world abuse is linked to mood problems.
Evidence ladder
How far up the ladder this claim has climbed. A high consensus on a low rung means "consistent so far," not "proven in people."
Top evidence so far: Population patterns (Observational)
How the studies fall
The evidence (10)
| Source | Grade | Stance | Quality | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santos 2024 · Saudi Pharm J | animal | supports | low | AAS increased aggression and neuroinflammation in female rodents and were linked to mood changes and psychiatric disorders in women. |
| Lieberman 2024 · Psychopharmacology | RCT | mixed | moderate | Testosterone enanthate during energy deprivation had limited and inconsistent effects on aggression, risk-taking and mood. |
| Panagiotidis 2017 · Eur Neuropsychopharmacol | RCT | mixed | moderate | Exogenous testosterone potentiated provocation-related anger but did not increase actual aggressive behavior. |
| Mhillaj 2015 · Front Neurosci | animal | supports | low | Preclinical and clinical review links supratherapeutic AAS to anxiety, aggression and irritability via reward-system and neurotransmitter changes. |
| Tricker 1996 · J Clin Endocrinol Metab | RCT | tested-null | high | 600 mg/week testosterone enanthate for 10 weeks produced no significant increase in anger or mood measures by self or observer report. |
| Bahrke 1996 · Sports Med | observational | mixed | moderate | Update found associations between high-dose AAS and aggression/affective syndromes but only in a small percentage, with major methodological limitations. |
| Vorona 2018 · Minerva Endocrinol | observational | supports | moderate | Review reports increased irritability, depressive mood and, in abusers, persistent anxiety and depression associated with AAS use. |
| Cueva 2017 · Horm Behav | RCT | tested-null | moderate | 48-hour testosterone administration did not affect ultimatum-game rejections or aggressive mood in healthy men. |
| Talih 2007 · Cleve Clin J Med | observational | supports | low | Review describes AAS abuse as associated with mania, aggression and depression, with withdrawal-related psychiatric symptoms. |
| Pope 2000 · Arch Gen Psychiatry | RCT | mixed | high | Supraphysiologic testosterone produced significant manic/aggressive responses in a minority of men, with most showing little change (marked individual variability). |
Disagree, or know a study we missed?
We grade by evidence, not opinions. The way to weigh in is to point us to a study we haven't cited (check the evidence table above first), or to flag a problem with one we have. Every submission is reviewed; if it holds up, the grade updates and shows in Science Changes Its Mind.
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Educational only, not medical advice. Grades and scores reflect published evidence weighted by study design and quality; see the methodology.