NCJ Number
92539
Journal
Medicine, Science and the Law Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: (October 1983) Pages: 245-253
Date Published
1983
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This review of the literature on incest addresses incidence, characteristics, and treatment of the phenomenon.
Abstract
The incestuous relationships considered include father-daughter incest, mother-son incest, sibling incest, uncle-niece incest, aunt-nephew incest, grandfather-granddaughter incest, father-son incest, and mother-daughter incest. The discussion notes that social awareness of child abuse is helping the lay public to recognize that incestuous relationships are far from rare and occur at all social levels and within all degrees of relationships. The presentation of incest as a problem is most commonly indirect, although these families are usually known to social agencies and make heavy demands upon them. The already delicate problem of disclosure is made more difficult by the young child's developmental difficulty in distinguishing reality and fantasy as well as by any positive gains within the family structure that the incestuous relationship brings. Despite an excess of father-daughter incest cases reported in the literature, it may well be that sibling incest is actually the most common and is an extension of normal sexual experimentation. These children do not appear to come to harm and terminate their relationship when they find a suitable extrafamilial partner and therefore, seem to form a group distinct from the other relationships which victimize the incestuous child. A total of 51 references are supplied.