Post-Traumatic Symptoms in Incest Victims (From Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children, P 155-168, 1985, Spencer Eth and Robert S Pynoos, eds. -- See NCJ-130521)

• NCJ Number: 130524
• Author(s): J Goodwin
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: American Psychiatric Press, Inc
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter discusses whether or not incest is traumatic, whether or not incest victims are symptomatic, and the recognition of post-traumatic disorders in incest victims.

Abstract

Whether or not incest is traumatic is related to the particular factors that characterize incest incidents. It is most likely to be traumatic when the perpetrator uses physical force or death threats against the child or family members, the victim fears about his/her own physical sensations, there is no mirroring or comforting parental figure, and there is a confusing quality in the rationalizations or paranoid thinking of the family. Overall, the symptoms found in incest victims resemble those found acutely in rape victims. Fear, sleep and eating disturbances, guilt, decreased functioning, sexual problems, and irritability are found in the rape trauma syndrome. Symptoms in incest victims may be more numerous, more severe, and longer lasting, since incest typically involves numerous sexual assaults over a prolonged period. A symptom list for incest victims includes fear, startle reactions, and anxiety; repetition, re-enactment, or flashback to the trauma; sleep disturbance and other depressive phenomena; ego constriction or regression; and explosive and maladaptive expressions of anger. 49 references