Long-term effects of incestuous abuse in childhood

Abstract

The authors studied two groups of adult women with histories of incest, a nonclinical sample (N = 152) and an outpatient sample (N = 53). Women in the community sample reported a range of long-term effects from the incest. The great majority said they had been upset by their incest experiences, but about half said they had recovered well from their trauma. Most women who had suffered forceful, prolonged, or highly intrusive sexual abuse, or who had been abused by their father or stepfather, reported long-lasting negative effects. The patient sample reported histories comparable to the most severe traumatic histories in the community sample.