Fundamental biological reality means that a birth mother can be certain that she is genetically related to her child (aside from the case of surrogacy or egg donor IVF).
On the other hand, paternity cannot be accurately known without genetic testing. This can lead to false paternity attribution, where a man unknowingly raises a child not genetically related to himself, or fraud regarding paternity if the man is deceived into such a situation.
In some cases, relationship conflicts may prompt men to have their children undergo genetic testing. Additionally, with the increase in consumer genetic testing for ancestry and health conditions, more men are incidentally testing today.
According to data from a paternity testing company in the United States in 2004, 28% of fathers were not biologically related to their children.
However, Australian academic Professor Michael Gilding argued that this data was biased as it only targeted men with doubts about their paternity. He suggested a more realistic figure of about 3%, based on accompanying data from genetic and medical studies.
Recent data from a US study published in 2022 found that 7% of users discovered they had paternity inaccuracies.
Similarly, a genetic sampling study in the Netherlands in 2017 estimated that just under 1% of fathers were unknowingly genetically unrelated to their children. A recent Swedish study with over 2 million families suggested that this number is around 1.7% and decreasing.
While these recent numbers are lower than earlier claims, they still indicate a significant impact on some men and children.
This article addresses the question, “How many fathers are unknowingly raising children who are not biologically theirs?” (submitted via email by Dave Shaw).
To submit your questions, please email questions@sciencefocus.com or contact us via our Facebook, @sciencefocus, or Instagram pages (remember to include your name and location).
For more fascinating science content, visit our Ultimate Fun Facts page.
Read more:
Source: www.sciencefocus.com
