Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:1426-1428
Copyright © 1980 by American Psychiatric Association
The primal scene: a study of prevalence
AA Rosenfeld, CR Smith, AO Wenegrat, W Brewster and DK Haavik
Although primal scene experiences have been implicated as causal agents in
innumerable psychopathologic states, no study of their actual prevalence
exists. The authors conducted five separate studies, in which parents
reported that 9%-41% of their children had seen parental intercourse. If
the times children see parental intercourse without the parents knowing it
and the times children hear parents making noises during intercourse were
included, the prevalence would be much higher. In view of the frequent
occurrence of primal scene experiences, factors other than the viewing
itself must influence psychopathological outcomes when they occur.
