Mental health articles

Offending behavior of the father in sexual abuse An  assumption of family systems theory is that the incest serves a function within the family (Larson & Maddock, 1986). As such, it was historically assumed that incest offenders abused only within the family (Conte, 1991). Instead, a large number of studies now indicate that many fathers do […]

Dysfunctional dynamics within families in sexual abuse Several studies have assessed general dynamics within families in which fathers abuse their children. These studies almost uniformly agree that these families exhibit high levels of overall family dysfunction, even more so than families with victims of other types of intrafamilial and extrafamilial abuse (Briere & Elliott, 1993; […]

Caregiving of the father are related to sexual abuse Sociobiological theory suggests that early patterns of caregiving are related to the risk of abusing one's child. Parker and Parker (1986), who were the first to test this theory, compared incestuous fathers and stepfathers to controls matched on age. They found that incestuous fathers were significantly […]

Stressors within the family in sexual abuse Feminist theory also suggests that power imbalances within the family contribute to an unduly large number of stressors. Indeed, families of father-daughter incest have greater than the national norm of children (Anderson & Shafer, 1979; Herman, 198 1; Owen & Steele, 1991), and the pregnancies are not always […]

Power, control, and domination in sexual abuse Feminist theory also posits that incest is an abuse not only of power, but of a powerful, dominant, and controlling patriarch (Herman, 1981). A large body of empirical literature supports this dynamic, as other types of violence frequently coexist with the incest. Indeed, many victims are also physically […]

Physical Environment of the Family in the child sexual abuse The most outstanding characteristic of parental sexual abuse is that approximately 99% is perpetrated by fathers or father figures (Finkelhor et al., 1990; Russell, 1983; Wyatt, 1985). The second most outstanding characteristic is that females are at greatly increased risk of sexual abuse. Indeed, in […]

Feminist theory of male dominance on child sexual abuse The final theory to be discussed is feminist theory. This theory proposes that incest, as well as all child sexual abuse, is symptomatic of a society in which patriarchal norms are the standard (Coleman & Collins, 1990). As Waldby et al. (1 989) state, “patriarchy is […]

Attachment theory on child sexual abuse Attachment may also be an important factor that places children at greater or lesser risk of child sexual abuse. Alexander (1992) was the first to discuss the relevance of attachment to intrafamilial sexual abuse, specifically father-daughter incest. She believes that insecure attachment is a general risk factor that places […]