Families at risk for father-daughter incest

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.