Applicants’ perspectives on paternity testing in court cases: the influence of gender

Abstract

In this paper, we analyse the gender differences in the assessment of paternity testing ordered by courts of law in Portugal. A representative sample of 146 men and women who undergo paternity testing ordered by the courts per year was chosen. The results show that both women and men attributed high importance to the scientific evidence of paternity, although women ascribed less importance to paternity testing than men. With regard to the reasons justifying paternity tests, 98.5% of men valued their financial obligations while 90.5% of women emphasized the importance of proving to the father that they are not lying. Men were more likely to expect positive outcomes concerning the child-father relationship after learning the results of the paternity test.