Am J Psychiatry 1981; 138:967-970
Copyright © 1981 by American Psychiatric Association
Families at risk for father-daughter incest
J Herman and L Hirschman
Forty women who had had incestuous relationships with their fathers during
childhood were compared with 20 women whose fathers had been seductive but
not overtly incestuous. More of the women who had experienced overt incest
reported that their fathers had been violent and that their mothers had
been chronically ill, disabled, or battered. Untreated depression,
alcoholism, or psychosis or repeated involuntary childbearing were most
commonly cited as causes of impaired maternal functioning. Women who had
experienced overt incest had a higher rate of running away, suicide
attempts, and pregnancy during adolescence than the comparison group. The
authors suggest that clinicians be alert to the possibility of incest in
families which contain a violent father, a disabled mother, or an
"acting-out" adolescent girl.
