NCJ Number
105332
Date Published
1987
Length
166 pages
Annotation
Written for adult incest survivors, their intimate partners, and therapists, this book discusses how sexuality is affected by childhood sexual abuse and explains what steps adults who were so abused can take to develop a healthy sexuality.
Abstract
Following a general discussion of the importance of healthy sexuality for the development of satisfying intimate relationships, the book notes that incest injects tension, fear, betrayal, physical pain, and mistrust into the victim's sexual awakening. An examination of the family influences operating in father-daughter incest focuses on the father, the mother, the child victim, and overall family dynamics. The book then identifies some methods incest victims use to cope with the stress of their exploitation and describes how these methods hamper the development of healthy adult sexuality. Detailed discussions of the impact of incest on sexuality address its effects on self-concept, messages about sexuality and sex roles, anxieties about relationships, sexual emergence, sexual orientation and preference, sexual arousal, sexual response, and sexual satisfaction. Chapters on the treatment of adult incest survivors consider how survivors can help themselves, survivors and their intimate partners working together, and the practical aspects of finding and benefiting from professional help. Appendixes discuss the sexuality concerns of male incest survivors, review research, and provide a worksheet on a sequence of dating and sexual behaviors. 19 notes, 29-item bibliography, and subject index.