In order to investigate if antisocial step-fathers are more likely both to have step-children and to be generally more violent was investigated in a population of 118 men. The purpose was to examine the step-father affect in a sample of fathers and to test the parental solicitude against an explanation of fathers antisociality. The police reports were studied on children by 387 domestically violent men who had minor children and their association with genetic relatedness, offender antisociality, and the opportunity to assault step-children. Step-parents represented a greater risk of physical abuse to children rather than genetic parents do. Fathers showed evidence of discriminative parental solicitude, being twice as likely to assault step-children
