Children´s body odours are effective chemosignals in the parent-child relationship. Mothers are able to identify their children by smell and prefer this smell over that of unfamiliar children. This is mediated by genetic similarity and developmental stage - presumably to promote parental care at pre-pubertal stage, while facilitating incest avoidance at (post)pubertal stage. The here presented study tested whether similar mechanisms apply to fathers. Therefore n = 56 fathers evaluated body odour samples of their own and of unfamiliar children in varying genetic and developmental stages from birth to adolescence. Genetic status was mapped via human leucocyte antigen (HLA-) profiling, developmental status by standardized assessment of pubertal status and steroid hormone concentration (estradiol, testosterone). Fathers recognized their own child´s body odour above chance and preferred that odour over unfamiliar odours. The paternal preference did not relate to HLA similarity but decreased with increasing age of the child. The decline was linked to higher pubertal stages in daughters only, which supports the hypothesis of odour-mediated incest prevention in opposite-sex parent-child dyads.

Funding: This research was funded by the German Research Foundation, grant number CR 479/4-1.