Intrafamilial sexual abuse: family-of-origin and family-of-procreation characteristics of female adult victims

J Psychol. 1991 Sep;125(5):579-97. doi: 10.1080/00223980.1991.10543322.

Abstract

We examined connections between incest victims' family-of-origin and family-of-procreation characteristics in a sample of 40 American women who were in treatment for childhood or adolescent experiences of victimization. Retrospective data on their families-of-origin were collected along with their perceptions of current relationships with family members in the three-generational system. Results showed a close association between family-of-origin and family-of-procreation characteristics, especially in the areas of intergenerational intimacy, intergenerational fusion/individuation, and personal authority. A number of significant correlations were also found between subjects' past and present relationships with family-of-origin members and the dimensions of moral and religious orientation, achievement, and intellectual and cultural orientation, conflict, and control in their family-of-procreation. Some aspects of individual adjustment, including alienation, emotional discomfort, and defensiveness, were strongly related to various family-of-origin and family-of-procreation characteristics.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child Abuse, Sexual / psychology*
  • Child of Impaired Parents / psychology*
  • Family / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Incest / psychology*
  • Individuation
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Social Environment*