NPE Awareness Day - June 27th
"NPE" is an acronym with a history originating in the term “non-paternity event” — a term used in the medical setting when parent/child mismatches were uncovered as a result of clinical genetic testing.
When the genealogy world began to use DNA tests to search for biological connections between people in their family trees, many reasons for a non-match between people and their supposed genetic family members were discovered. Hidden adoptions and the use of egg donors implicated people in non-maternal events. Misattributed parentage includes unexpected parent mismatches of many types. The genealogist Emily Aulicino was the first to begin using NPE to mean “not the parent expected” and the use has continued throughout the years (see reference 3, ISOGG NPE page on Wikipedia).
NPE has also become the term for a person who has discovered one or both parents is not genetically related to them, popularized by the first wide-spread NPE support organization, NPE Friends Fellowship. Many people introduce themselves or describe themselves as “I am an NPE” — this serves to connect NPEs and can be a way to help non-NPEs understand how disruptive the late discovery of misattributed parentage can be to someone’s identity.
Some NPEs have begun to use an alternative term “MPE,” standing either for misattributed parentage event or misattributed parentage experience. When each term is used and by whom depends on personal preference, and sometimes is a reflection of which support group a person belongs to.
WHICHEVER TERM YOU CHOSE, YOU ARE CORRECT!
Researchers around the world (from Israel to Australia to the US and UK) are studying the emotional experience of making a discovery that a parent (most commonly Dad) is not biologically related. The latest published in the scientific literature since we last posted about NPE awareness day include papers by Shepard, et al., Grethel, et al., Chen, et al., and Guerinni, et al. Each paper uses its own terms, as the area of research tends to determine the most commonly terminology recognized and used by its audience.
All are being used by individuals who can help you find your way to support and understanding when you’re affected. When it’s your experience, it’s up to you which terminology you choose to explain how you feel, how you identify as an individual, and what you’ve been through. If you do not relate to any of these terms, that is also okay.
At Watershed DNA, we try to use DNA discovery or DNA surprise most often. Some people come looking for support for unexpected ethnicity, some for unexpected health risks, others for an NPE/MPE discovery for themselves, or the discovery of a sibling, biological child, cousin, or other genetic relative who is new to the family.
In light of NPE awareness day, July 27th, take some time to listen to one of the following episodes of DNA Clarity and Support. You’ll learn about the NPE experience through the words of some people who have lived it.
“Taking the mindful approach to a DNA surprise”
“Appreciating a sense of peace once it comes”