Millions worldwide have taken a DNA test. But why do they do it?
Research shows that many people discover new relatives after submitting a DNA test online. For some, the results also confirm suspicions that they are not biologically related to their closest family members.(Photo: Kittyfly / Shutterstock / NTB)
Many of us are curious about who we are and where our family comes from. In recent years, digital DNA tests have made it much easier to trace your ancestry.
By 2022, at least 30 million people had already taken such a test, according to a study.
But what actually motivates people to do this?
That's what Swedish researchers have investigated.
Saliva on a cotton swab
Annonse
In a new study, researchers asked around 900 people in Sweden who had taken a commercial DNA test to learn more about their ancestry.
Such tests are ordered online and taken at home by collecting saliva on a cotton swab, which is then sent to the company for genetic analysis.
After a few weeks, the results arrive. They show the geographical origins of your ancestors and provide a list of other test-takers who share DNA with you. Many companies also offer tools that connect genetic data to a family tree.
Want to find relatives
The researchers wanted to understand who takes these tests, why they do so, and how the results affect them.
Most participants were between 50 and 80 years old. Many had higher education and a strong interest in history and culture.
The findings show that people mainly take DNA tests for personal reasons. They want to find unknown relatives and confirm family relationships.
Some lose family
In the comments from the survey, around half answered that they had found new family members, and many of them made contact. 35 per cent reported that they had made new friends through the test.
Only a few found the results troubling. A small number of participants stated that they had lost family members after taking the DNA test, but the study does not explore this further.
Most respondents said that the results had not had major consequences for their lives.
Not about nationalism
The researchers concluded that the motivation for taking a DNA test has little to do with nationalism or identity politics. This contrasts with international debates surrounding DNA testing and identity, according to the researchers.
The goal was not to place oneself within a grand historical narrative, but rather to map family networks.
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"The study shows that national identity does not play a prominent role," Kristian Kristiansen says in a press release. He is professor emeritus of archaeology at the University of Gothenburg and one of the researchers behind the study.
Kristiansen believes this may be linked to Sweden’s history as a country of emigration. As a result, many people who take these tests find relatives abroad, especially in the United States.
Some have a suspicion
The findings from Sweden resemble those of a large American study from 2022. In that study, researchers asked more than 23,000 customers at two companies that offer ancestry tests why they took such a test.
Most were simply curious about their family and wanted to expand their family trees.
But there were also quite a few who were seeking confirmation of a suspicion, such as whether they had been adopted.
Most found a new relative
Over 80 per cent said they had found at least one new relative, and around 60 per cent said they learned something new about themselves and their family.
Some found out they were adopted or conceived using donors.
3 per cent discovered that the person they believed to be their biological parent was not, and 5 per cent learned that they had full or half siblings.
