Posted on 08/11/2005 12:40:55 PM PDT by summer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Perhaps one out of every 25 dads could unknowingly be raising another man's child, a finding that has huge health and social implications, according to report released Wednesday.
Exposing so-called paternal discrepancy -- when a child is identified as being biologically fathered by someone other than the man who believes he is the father -- could lead to family violence and the breakup of many families. On the other hand, leaving paternal discrepancy hidden means having the wrong genetic information, which could have health consequences.
A UK-based research team reviewed scientific research dealing with paternity published between 1950 and 2004 and reports that rates of paternal discrepancy range from less than 1 percent to as much as 30 percent.
The investigation also showed that becoming pregnant at a younger age, low socioeconomic status, and being in a long-term relationship rather than being married seem to be linked to greater likelihood of paternal discrepancy.
It is generally believed that rates of paternal discrepancy are less than 10 percent. A paternal discrepancy rate of 4 percent means that one in 25 families could be affected.
However, soaring rates of paternity testing in North America and Europe means more cases of paternal discrepancy will be identified in the years ahead, Professor Mark A. Bellis, from the Center for Public Health at the Liverpool John Moores University, and colleagues point out in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
In the United States, for example, rates of paternity testing more than doubled between 1991 and 2001. The increasing use of genetic testing for diagnosis and treatment of disease as well as in judicial procedures will also yield more opportunities to uncover cases where a father, unbeknownst to him, is not the biological parent.
"Modern genetic techniques continue to open a Pandora's box on hitherto hidden aspects of human sexual behavior," the investigators write.
Exposing such situations will inevitably affect not only deceived dads but also their family and potentially the biological father. Leaving paternal discrepancy undiagnosed, on the other hand, leaves those affected with incorrect genetic information that could prove harmful.
What's urgently needed, the authors say, is guidance on how and when paternal discrepancy should be exposed.
At present, most cases that are inadvertently identified are ignored by whoever uncovers the situation.
"However, in a society where services and life decisions are increasingly influenced by genetics, our approach to paternal discrepancy cannot be simply to ignore this difficult issue but must be informed by what best protects the health of those affected," Bellis and colleagues argue.
I suppose it's more polite than a "Ho family".
I personally know 3 friends who have found, over time, they weren't their kids dads. One in an emergency room situation involving an accident, he is now widowed and has raised a fine son. The other divorced not long after finding out. The 3rd was a former boss, whose personal secretary didn't do a very good job of keeping the 'secret' of her 2nd child's 'real father' a secret. But he and his wife stayed married, boy did the wife make him pay. And the other woman continued to work for him. Maybe it's more than 25%...
I was talking about that youngish prince of what is it, Monaco? He just admitted to fathering the kid of an airline flight attendant, and said he expects other women may soon be making similiar claims.
Nationwide, 70%. In some communities, 90%.
That is almost as bad as what cow birds do. The cow bird lays its eggs in another birds nest. The cow birds chick hatches first and and is raised by the other birds. The cow bird chicks push the other chicks out of the nest when they are hatched.
Momma's baby....Daddy's maybe.............
I know that my dad is real... he's a lazy bastard, I'm a lazy bastard, couldn't be mere coincidence.
Over 66%!! What does that mean when those kids start 'hooking up' with each other- and none of them know if they share a common father!?
How much of that unknown incest is the cause of low IQ's and borderline retardation now?
You won't get out of it that easy, mister. lol
Oh, yes, lets blame science, shall we?
Men can never inflict a cuckolding on women, but the implication is that we should hide this information from the man unless its absolutely necessary to tell him.
This is another example of liberal bias that has crept into law.
The law in the US (never written, but assumed from old english law by liberal judges) is that the man of the house is de-facto assumed to be the parent, regardless of what the DNA says. While this might have worked in days when men had some control over their wives social outings, this situation does not exist anymore, and no man can make his wife stay home. Yet the old rules persist.
Men should be able to at the very least obtain child support payments from the boyfriend, but I've never heard of this happening.
So what will prevent brother/sisters/fathers/daughters etc from having childern? Considering less that 22% of people ever leave thier hometowns, this could be a significant issue in the next few years.
Yeah, the whole "hooking up" culture thing is frightening, for many reasons. The HIV rate is reportedly soaring among young people now.
To look at me, you'd have no idea who my father is. I am the spittin' image of my mother and always have been. Her pictures and mine at the same age could be the same woman, with different hairdos.
It's a classic techology debate. Is it good or is it bad? We won't know until it's too late.
I don't share this worry about my Dad. I have almost a carbon copy of his voice which is distinctive. Also I have tiny teeth just like my Dad. However, I once knew a guy who knew just about for sure that his son wasn't biologically his son. It happened while he was in the navy and was out at sea for months away from his wife. He has accepted what happened but I can tell he does have something of a grudge against his son.
Albert of Monaco, his serene highness (gag). Yes, and those children are all of colour. Thanks, Al, for being part of the solution. No surprise though, his sister has three (4?) children by as many fathers (Stephanie).
Regarding the UK Royals, I meant the ever present curiousity that Andrew might not be Philip's own.
I suppose all those years of royal in breeding are resulting in genetic rebellion.
How cheap do you want? A couple hundred dollars is what they cost, but you can't use the results in court. Although I did hear of one man taking the cheap test results to the child support agency and getting his child support obligation cut.
They don't even need blood to work, just scrape some cells from inside the cheeks (mouth cheeks) onto a little swab and send them to be tested.
You can even use hair you pulled from a comb or brush, but I think those are more expensive.
But if you do it, and the test comes out negative, and your wife ever finds out about it, you're mud.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.