![]() Swinburne University sociologist Michael Gilding, who also appears in the SBS program, has thoroughly researched the origins of the popular belief that 10% to 30% of paternities are misattributed. Likewise, any study recruiting families – however randomly – might have more success recruiting mothers who harbour no doubts about their children’s paternity. Many clients are there because at least one party isn’t convinced. A paternity clinic, for example, is a bad place from which to estimate the rate of misattributed paternity. The problem with most data on paternity is the near impossibility of obtaining an unbiased sample. So much so that the numbers tend to stick in our minds. These estimates surprise most people when they first hear them. The idea that almost one in three people might be the result of what we biologists rather matter-of-factly call “extra-pair copulations” titillates and horrifies in equal measure. If you have read, heard or watched anything on this question, you will have encountered many estimates, from 9% to more than 30%. ![]()
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