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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The goal of this article by Williams and Finkelhor was to explore the existence of biosocial factors in incest trough an examination of early caretaking contact.
METHODOLOGY:
The authors employed a quasi-experimental method for this study that compared the paternal involvement of two groups of biological fathers who had committed father-daughter incest. The two groups were drawn from civilian and Navy sources and were matched with civilian and Navy non-incestuous control groups. They were matched on age, education, occupation, and age of daughter. There were 55 Navy incestuous fathers, 63 civilian incestuous fathers, 53 Navy controls, and 63 civilian controls. The participants from the Navy were drawn from the Navy Family Support Program, and the civilian participants were drawn from 25 treatment providers across the country. They actively pursued all eligible subjects. 34% of the men approached refused. The interview was a five hour face-to-face interview. The fathers had to have the opportunity to care for the child from the earliest age, and the use of the Navy was included to control for involvement in paternal absence. All subjects had been identified as child sexual abusers of their own children. The variables examined were as follows: the proportion of time separated more than 30 days during each of the first five years of the childís life, the involvement of the father in the care of his daughter that required intimate bodily contact (measured by a fathering act questionnaire), emotional instability, empathy, marital dissatisfaction, history of physical of psychological victimization, and commission of a sexual abuse act before the age of 18. The alpha scores for reliability of the caretaking scores were high (.93 for caretaking in 0-12 months; .94 for 13 months to 1 year; .91 for ages 4 and 5). The lower half of the sample were low care for all three periods. Empathy was measured using 7 items from the Cattell 16 Personality Factor Questions. Marital dissatisfaction was measured using the 25 item Index of Marital Dissatisfaction. Severe parental abuse in childhood was measured with a modification of the Conflict Tactics Scale which attended to child abuse by a parent. Rejection or neglect of a parent was measured using 6 items from the Clarke Parent-Child Relations Questionnaire. Alpha for paternal rejection was .88; for maternal rejection it was .86. Child sexual victimization was measured using Russellís Sexual Experiences questions which ask about sexual contact before 18 as a result of force or misuse of authority by someone 5 years older. Youth sexual offending was measured using 7 questions about their initiation of sexual acts using force or misuse of authority before age 18. Chi square data, odds ratio analysis, and stepwise logistic regression were used to analyze these data.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Incestuous fathers were found to have a significant history of being abused both by mothers (p=<.05) and fathers (p=<.005). Being abused by a father increased the odds of being sexually abusive by 4.29 and by a mother, 2.59. Rejection or neglect by fathers increased the odds of sexual abuse by 4.4 (p<.00005) and by mothers it increased the odds by 4.3 (p<.005). Sexual victimization was found in 69% of the incestuous fathers and 28% of the nonincestuous fathers. This did not differ between civilian and Navy. This increased the odds of victimizing by 5.77 (p<.0001). Youth sexual offending significantly increased the odds of abuse by 3.72. Low empathy/high emotional instability were not significantly related. Marital dissatisfaction increased the odds of sexual abuse by the father by 5.01 (p<.00001). No significant differences were found in time separation. The incestuous fathers reported significantly less involvement in their childís care (44% low care; 46% for Navy only). Stepwise logistic regression was performed which controlled for socioeconomic status and other variables. The adjusted odds ratios showed that being sexually abused increased the odds of incest 2.5 times, low paternal care (2.74 times), severe child abuse from the father (3.10 times), rejection by father (2.78 times), perpetrating sexual abuse as an adolescent (2.5 times), and dissatisfaction with the marriage (3.95 times). The authors concluded that caretaking confers some protection against incest, though it was not clear why. Caregiving during the first three years did not seem to be a critical period as the effect was strongest for intimate caregiving in years 4 and 5. Caregiving before age 6 appeared to inhibit later abuse. Caregiving did not appear to have an overriding effect over other incest risk factors, however. Caregiving did not affect sexual interest as severe abuse by the father and sexual abuse suffered as a child increased sexual arousal. The authors concluded that there was low support for biosocial theory.
AUTHOR(S)' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors state that there should be more incentives and removal of barriers to fathering including such things as parental leave, job sharing, changes in military deployment, flex time, and so forth that would encourage involvement of fathers. Educational programs, such as hospital post partum programs, should include paternal caregiving, according to the authors. Further research was also called for including examination of the types and conditions of caretaking which most inhibit abuse and how these compare to other types of caretakers. Prospective study was advocated.
EVALUATION:
This study is methodologically sound and has attended to many potential difficulties with reliability and validity. The use of the Navy group was particularly useful. The findings of this study can be taken as generalizable with some caution given to the fact that the control group was comprised of fathers who did have familial problems but not incest. A comparative study with a completely ìnormalî sample would be helpful, and as the authors noted, prospective studies would ultimately be very helpful.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
Father-Daughter Incest
Father Offender
Nurturance
Incest Offender
Incest Causes
Parent Offender
Adult Father
Adult Male
Adult Violence
Adult Parent
Adult Offender
Sexual Assault Offender
Sexual Assault Causes
Male Violence
Male Offender
Child Abuse Offender
Child Abuse Causes
Child Sexual Abuse Causes
Child Sexual Abuse Offender
Domestic Violence Offender
Domestic Violence Causes
Biopsychosocial Factors
Child Molester
Family Relations
Parent Child Relations
Military Personnel
Offender Nonoffender Comparison
Caregiver Offender
02-07 |