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PubMed1982

Adult-child incest: a review of research and treatment.

Although of long-standing theoretical interest in the social sciences, it is only in recent years that researchers and the helping professions have begun to address the reality of incest as a social problem. This paper reviews the literature which addresses adult-child incest as a form of child abuse. Twenty-six independent empirical studies are examined. Related treatment and theoretical literature is also discussed. The following are highlighted: problems of definition; current reporting statistics; obstacles to reporting; incest as a class phenomenon; characteristics of perpetrators, victims, and the other parent; dynamics and circumstances of the incest family; short- and long-term effects of incest on the victim; treating and preventing incest; and legal requirements regarding incest reporting. Finally, attention is directed to methodological problems--small samples, convenience samples, measurement issues, proper evaluation designs for treatment programs, etc.--which very few of the published studies adequately address. Suggestions are made.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1980

Some reflections on a case of mother/adolescent son incest.

A rare case of mother/adolescent son incest is presented. The son, treated in analysis, was not psychotic. Questions are raised about why father/daughter incest appears to be much more common than mother/son incest. Part of the answer, I speculate, has to do with the special psychic dangers for both mother and son, perhaps phylogenetically-based, which attach to the fantasy and the possibility of impregnating the mother. Where the incest taboo is violated, the primary responsibility would appear to be the parent's; the parent is frequently motivated by a compulsion to repeat his or her own incestuous past. In the case presented the probably psychotic mother had raised her son to look like a girl for several years, and he had been the victim of a homosexual assault at the age of 6. The incest at puberty seems to have helped him reverse a psychic position of subjection to the pre-oedipal mother, to have modified his rage and reinforced his masculinity. It also produced some of the arrogance, alongside a need for failure and punishment that evoke the legend of Oedipus. The mother, fearful of the possibility of getting pregnant, had abruptly stopped the incest. It had been repressed, and became conscious again when the son entered analysis. He then left his treatment without being able to work through much of the terror consequent to the consummation of incest, and with some of the feeling of oedipal triumph retained.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Effects of older brother-younger sister incest: a study of the dynamics of 17 cases.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of older brother-younger sister incest from the perspective of the women who experienced it in childhood or adolescent years. Dynamics in the families-of-origin were also explored, as these related or contributed to the effects from the incest. Seventeen women were interviewed, using an in-depth, semi-structured interview. Four self-report objective instruments were also administered that measure dynamics in the family-of-origin and symptomatology that is often associated with the effects of trauma. Interview and objective data were analyzed by systematically organizing the women's perceptions and conceptualizations into common themes. All of the women's families of origin were described as dysfunctional. Common effects reported included mistrust of men and women, chronic low or negative self-esteem, sexual response difficulties, and intrusive thoughts of the incest. Women regarded individual therapy, talking with supportive family and friends, and validating themselves as victims at the time of the incest as ways in which they have helped themselves to deal with the effects of the incest. These results have important implications for therapy, including serious consideration of the impact and contribution of this kind of incest on reported symptomatology, and on emerging issues and conflicts in the therapeutic process.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Differentiating incest survivors who self-mutilate.

OBJECTIVE: This study was an exploratory analysis of the variables which differentiated incest survivors who self-mutilate from those who do not. METHOD: A sample of women incest survivors (N = 84) were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of self-mutilation. Participants included both community and clinical populations. A packet consisting of a demographic questionnaire, Sexual Attitudes Survey, Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms, Dissociative Events Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory was completed by each participant. RESULTS: Demographic, incest, and family of origin variables distinguished the self-mutilating women from those who did not. These include ethnicity and educational experiences; duration, frequency, and perpetrator characteristics regarding the incest; and multiple abuses, instability, birth order, and loss of mother in one's family of origin. Psychological and physical health concerns also differentiated between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Many variables may differentiate between women incest survivors who self-mutilate from those who do not. A rudimentary checklist to describe the lives of incest survivors who self-mutilate resulted from these findings. The importance of the concept of embodiment is also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Qualifications, training, and perceptions of substance abuse counselors who work with victims of incest.

The study was an initial investigation into substance abuse counselors' qualifications and their training related to providing counseling for incest. Perceptions regarding the incidence of incest and insights into the difficulties of serving this subpopulation were also gathered. A total of 121 practicing substance abuse counselors, randomly sampled from treatment facilities across the United States, completed the "Substance Abuse Counselor Survey on Clients with Incest Histories" (SACSCIH). Participants estimated that, on average, about 24% of their clients were victims of incest. They also suspected that, on average, an additional 14% of their clients were victims of incest but did not report this information to the treatment staff. Participants revealed how they collected incest-related information and the various challenges they face in treating these clients. Data are analyzed descriptively and recommendations for future research are presented.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

First incest disclosure.

Despite the pivotal importance of disclosure to incest treatment and healing, disclosure has never been studied from the victim's perspective. How do incest victims move from keeping the secret to speaking about their abuse? Nine adult women were asked to talk about the first time they each told about the incest. They often spoke, not of "telling" in the commonly understood sense (i.e. giving information to someone who understands one's meaning), but instead of a time when some form of knowledge of the incest first entered an interaction with another person. Colaizzi's (1978) phenomenological method was used to analyze the interviews. Seven themes emerged: (1) living in the silencing home; (2) I am totally and particularly alone; (3) my mother, the focus of need; (4) incest as burden; (5) the secret must be kept; (6) disclosure: trying to balance above a chasm; and (7) disclosure as loss: no matter what, I still lose. The themes were then integrated into an essential description of first incest disclosure. Implications for nursing practice are explored.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

A clinical practice model for treatment of college-aged incest survivors.

Adult incest survivors frequently exhibit signs and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Many clinicians have geared their group treatment of incest survivors to address these manifestations. Given the nature of the sexual abuse, the early developmental periods in which some trauma occurs, the past and current relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, and the dynamics inherent in this violation and betrayal of trust, love, and power within the family unit, additional clinical concerns and safeguards must be considered. In addition, the struggles of college-aged incest survivors to come to terms with their history of sexual abuse often mirror the developmental tasks faced by their peers--autonomy, intimacy, sexuality, and formation of personal values and ethics. To focus solely on the incest without also considering these developmental issues may solidify a gridlock between inadequate resolution of the developmental issues and the continued victimization of the student incest survivor. The author discusses a time-limited group treatment for college-aged incest survivors that uses a modified posttraumatic stress disorder model as a conceptual framework and addresses both sets of concerns.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

"Incest--see under Oedipus complex": the history of an error in psychoanalysis.

This paper is intended as a contribution to the understanding of errors in our field. The title refers to the index entries "incest" in several classic psychoanalytic texts. In a way that is analogous to the defenses utilized by survivors of incest, psychoanalysis has both known and not known, avowed and disavowed, the traumatic impact of actual incest. It is argued that psychoanalysis erred in (a) focusing too heavily on the implications of incest for the Oedipus complex instead of its implications for every stage of development, and (b) missing out on the full and detailed description of the clinical pictures of incest victims and of treatment issues, including transference and countertransference. The author presents an overview of the history prompted by Masson's original attack on Freud for abandoning the "seduction hypothesis." Topics covered are: Freud's early papers, the Freud-Ferenczi controversy (1932), and the state of psychoanalytic awareness in the 1960's of the importance of actual incest. Certain features of our field make it all too likely that new errors can be generated that may similarly take decades to recognize and undo. These include the politics of our discipline, and negative attitudes toward systematic gathering and assessment of evidence.

Austria↗
PubMed1995

Does incest cause homosexuality?

A random sample of 5,182 adults from 6 U.S. metropolitan areas were questioned about incestuous sexual relationships during childhood. Incest was disproportionately reported by both male and female bisexuals and homosexuals. 148 gays (7.7% of the sample) reported 14 (50%) of same-sex, and 7 (22%) of opposite-sex incestuous experiences, and 20 (69%) of same-sex and 2 (3%) of opposite-sex sexual experiences with other relatives. 88 lesbians (3% of the sample) reported 2 (33%) of same-sex incest and 7 (9%) of opposite-sex incest and 1 (17%) of same-sex and 10 (13%) of opposite-sex sexual experiences with other relatives. 12% of 98 male homosexuals vs 0.8% of 1,224 male heterosexuals with a brother reported brother-brother incest. These findings are consonant with those of other studies in which disproportionately more incest by homosexuals was reported. As opposed to an evolutionary genetic hypothesis, these data support the alternative that homosexuality may be learned, since homosexuals do not produce children at sustainable levels and the incidence of homosexuality varies as a function of various social factors. Incest cannot be excluded as a significant basis for homosexuality.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Father-daughter incest: immediate and long-term effects of sexual abuse.

The characteristics, immediate and long-term aftereffects, and methods of adapting to father-daughter incest were examined. Twenty-one women with a past history of childhood or adolescent paternal incest were interviewed. The findings suggest that the female victim of paternal incest may endure more emotional, social, physical, self-identity, familial, and interpersonal difficulties during and shortly after the incest has been terminated. Relationships with men and sexuality were more adversely affected with time. Positive coping mechanisms of incest and factors contributing to the victims' adjustment to the incest were documented. Implications of findings for nursing practice and research are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Attributions of responsibility in father-daughter incest in relation to gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and experiential differences in participants.

One hundred and fifty-seven state college undergraduates (84 females and 73 males) answered the Jackson Incest Blame Scale [JIBS] modified to include mother-blaming after reading one of four vignettes about father-daughter incest in high or low SES White or Black families. Responses about incest prevalence (created for this study) in families with different ethnic and SES backgrounds varied with gender and SES of participants. Gender differences include blame of offender, situation, victim, and mother on the modified JIBS. Parents blamed the offender more than non-parents. Participants who knew an incest survivor disagreed significantly more with victim-blaming statements than those who did not know a survivor of incest.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Attribution of blame in incest.

This study was designed to identify the empirical structure of attitudes relating to attribution of blame in incest. A second purpose was to determine how variables such as gender, physically abused status, and sexually abused status influence the attribution of blame in incest. A sample of 201 male and 211 female college students was administered the Jackson Incest Blame Scale. Four factors emerged from the factor analysis of the total sample supporting the hypothesis that attribution of blame in incest is a multidimensional construct including victim, offender, situational, and societal factors. A difference in the level of victim blame was found between male and female samples. Results are discussed with regard to their implications for further research and training. Other potential uses of the Jackson Incest Blame Scale are suggested.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

An exploration of family and individual profiles following father-daughter incest.

This paper presents the results of a range of psychometric assessments which attempted to identify family and individual variables associated with father-daughter incest. Psychometric self-report measures were used to examine differences between families in which incest had been confirmed and a matched comparison group. Significant differences between the members of the incest and the comparison groups included behavioral and self-esteem problems in the daughters and differences in the familial environments of the two groups. Daughters who had been sexually abused reported lower levels of self-esteem about their intellectual and school status. Mothers in the incest group reported that their daughters had more conduct problems than the comparison mothers. The incest families were generally reported to be higher in conflict and organization and lower in cohesion, expressiveness, and active recreation. No differences between groups were found for levels of marital adjustment, self-esteem in mothers, or overall level of psychopathology in the perpetrators.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Parenting difficulties among adult survivors of father-daughter incest.

Women with a history of father-daughter incest as children often report difficulty in parenting their own children. This study examined the self-reported parenting experience and practices of women who were incest victims as children. Since many incest victims are also children of alcoholics, we compared their reports of parenting with those of women whose fathers were alcoholic but not sexually abusive, and to women who had no known risk during their childhood. The findigns were that incest survivors reported significantly less confidence and less sense of control as parents than nonrisk mothers. In addition, they reported significantly less support in the parental partnership with their spouses, and reported being less consistent and organized, and making fewer maturity demands on their children. The findings are discussed in terms of the incest survivor's sense of inefficacy and loss of control, the potential of the marital relationship to buffer the adverse effects of growing up in the dysfunctional, incestuous family, and future research directions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The specific effects of incest on prepubertal girls from dysfunctional families.

In a study addressing controversies regarding the impact of incest, we postulated that clinical consequences (a) are not solely due to family dysfunctionality, (b) need not appear with global measures, and (c) are demonstrated when specific zones of functioning are examined. These hypotheses were tested with a clinical sample of 57 girls, aged 8 to 14 years, from multiproblem families, half having experienced incest. The Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL; Achenbach and Edelbrock, 1979), the Piers-Harris (1984) Self-Esteem measure and the Harter and Pike (1984) Self-Competence Scale were completed and questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were conducted with both the girls and their clinicians. Their dossiers were analysed as well. As hypothesized, there were no differences on global measures (CBCL). In specific areas, however, the girls having undergone incest demonstrated significantly lower self-esteem, more troubled relations with their mothers, more sexualized attitudes and behaviours and more aggression turned inwardly than girls not having undergone incest from equally dysfunctional families. The powerful impact of incest on the prepubertal child is thereby underscored.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Attribution of blame in incest cases: a comparison of mental health professionals.

This study examined the attribution of blame by mental health professionals in father/daughter incest cases with respect to the influence of professional affiliation, gender, experience in treating victims and perpetrators, and years of clinical experience. A sample of 101 licensed psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and counselors completed a demographic questionnaire, the Jackson Incest Blame Scale, and questionnaire assigning blame for father-daughter incest. A factor analysis of the Jackson Incest Blame Scale yielded six factors rather than the four reported in previous research supporting the hypothesis that attribution of blame is a more complex phenomenon than previously thought. The majority of blame was assigned to the father-perpetrator with mothers and societal factors receiving a small percentage, and daughter victims none of the blame. Clinician experience in treating incest victims, gender of respondent, and professional affiliation differentiated attitudes towards family, situational, and societal blame.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Incest and substance abuse: implications for treatment professionals.

Seventy-seven volunteer participants enrolled in eight substance abuse treatment facilities were surveyed using the Substance Abuse and Incest Survey. Of the sample, 36 (48%) reported histories of incest. For participants reporting incest, data on substance abuse history, perceptions of the relationship between incest and substance abuse, and opinions regarding incest-related counseling in the context of substance abuse treatment are presented. Recommendations for substance abuse professionals and facilities are made, including intake screening, barriers to treatment, counselor education, and future research.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Psychic loss in adult survivors of father-daughter incest.

Studies show that adult survivors of childhood incest comprise a significant percentage of female psychiatric patients. The varied and multidetermined presenting symptomatology of these patients frequently leads to misdiagnosis and treatment interventions that fail to address core issues of the incest experience. One such issue is the child's experience of the psychic loss of a physically present parent that is part of the emotional trauma of incest. The goal of this paper is to discuss psychic loss as a core element of the incest experience, particularly in father-daughter incest, and to describe the conditions of childhood mourning that inhibit successful resolution of this loss. Attention is addressed to the psychoanalytic understanding of mourning as a basis for interventions in the treatment of adult survivors.

Adult↗