Sibling Incest Research
A symptom of a dysfunctional family
Sibling incest: A study of the dynamics of 25 cases.
Abstract
Investigated how dynamics distinctive to the sibling incest family system might predispose the family to act out its dysfunction through sibling sexual conduct, using data based on 25 families with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse reported between May 1982 and December 1985. Perpetrators' ages ranged from 9 to 20 yrs; victims' from 3 to 13 yrs. Average age of parents was 34.6 yrs. Results show that families yielded a significant pattern of common dynamics, including distant, inaccessible parents; parental stimulation of sexual climate in the home; and family secrets, especially with regard to extramarital affairs.
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Abstract
Sibling incest is the least investigated but probably the most common form of incest. This study describes a predominantly Caucasian, middle-income sample of sibling incest offenders from primarily intact families. Demographics, behavioral dysfunction, psychiatric diagnoses, history of victimization, family characteristics, and abuse characteristics are presented. Findings included that 92% of the offenders had a history of being physically abused, whereas only 8% had a history of sexual victimization. Issues of parental denial and minimization and intergenerational transmission of abusive patterns are discussed. Sibling incest demands further attention from clinicians and researchers.
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Abstract
Child sexual abuse has gained national attention within the last decade. The most reported and studied form of intrafamilial child sexual abuse is father-daughter incest. However, it is believed that sibling incest may be a more widespread form of intrafamilial sexual abuse. Yet, it has received the least amount of documentation and study. The purpose of this article is to describe sibling incest, including family dynamics. Implications for nursing intervention and research are proposed.
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Brother-sister incest - father-daughter incest: a comparison of characteristics and consequences
Abstract
Objective: One group of women who were sexually abused by brothers and a second group who were sexually abused by fathers are compared with the intent to identify the differing characteristics of each type of abuse and the effects of the abuse on their adult functioning. Our hypothesis was that there would indeed be differences in the characteristics of the abuse and its effects, and that this would necessitate differing treatment strategies.
Method: Surveys were distributed to women attending support groups for incest survivors. Of the 62 women completing questionnaires, 14 women (23%) had been sexually abused by a brother. A similar number of women (15) who had been sexually abused by their fathers were chosen from the overall sample for comparison.
Results: The absence of the father as a vital force in family life played a key role in the sexual abuse of women by their brothers in every case. The duration of the sexual abuse for brother-abused women and father-abused women was lengthy. The characteristics, including use of force, are equally as serious for sisters as for daughters. The family circumstances surrounding the abuse were examined for both groups and the results yielded a fuller understanding of the incestuous family. Despite an appearance of normalcy, the level of family-wide disturbances, for example substance abuse, mental illness and pervasive family-wide violence were profound for both groups. In this study, we also examine the effects in adulthood of the serious disruption of childhood developmental phases for both brother-abused and father-abused women, taking into account the incidence of substance abuse, depression, suicidality, and eating disorders.
Conclusions: The authors conclude that the characteristics and consequences of brother-sister incest are of equal seriousness to those of father-daughter incest. This would suggest that brother-sister incest is one of the current blind spots in incest research, and one that we cannot afford to ignore. In-depth knowledge of the dynamics and effects of brother-sister incest suggest specific treatment strategies are indeed necessary and these are discussed in this paper.
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Abstract
Objective: Three groups of girls who were sexually abused (by either brothers, fathers, or stepfathers) were compared. The purpose was to identify the differing characteristics of the abuse, the family environments, and the psychosocial distress of these children.
Method: Seventy-two girls aged between 5 and 16 were assigned to one of the three groups. Subjects were matched between groups on the basis of their actual age. Children completed measures of traumatic stress; their mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report Form (CBCL) and other self-report questionnaires on family characteristics. Workers in child protective services completed information regarding the nature and severity of the abuse.
Results: Results suggested few differences in the characteristics of sexual abuse between the three groups. However, penetration was much more frequent in the sibling incest group (70.8%) than in the stepfather incest (27.3%) or father incest (34.8%) groups. Ninety percent of the victims of fathers and brothers manifested clinically-significant distress on at least one measure, whereas 63.6% of stepfather victims did. Compared with father and stepfather perpetrators, brothers were raised in families with more children and more alcohol abuse.
Conclusions: The authors conclude that the characteristics of brother-sister incest and its associated psychosocial distress did not differ from the characteristics of father-daughter incest These findings suggest that theoretical models and clinical practices should be adjusted accordingly and that sibling incest should not necessarily be construed as less severe or harmful than father-daughter incest.
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Etiological Risk Factors for Sibling Incest: Data From an Anonymous Computer-Assisted Self-Interview
Abstract
Retrospective data from 1,821 women and 1,064 men with one or more siblings, provided anonymously using a computer-assisted self-interview, were used to identify risk factors for sibling incest (SI); 137 were participants in SI. In order of decreasing predictive power, the risk factors identified by the multiple logistic regression analysis included ever having shared a bed for sleeping with a sibling, parent-child incest (PCI), family nudity, low levels of maternal affection, and ever having shared a tub bath with a sibling. The results were consistent with the idea that SI in many families was the cumulative result of four types of parental behaviors: (a) factors that lower external barriers to sexual behavior (e.g., permitting co-sleeping or co-bathing of sibling dyads), (b) factors that encourage nudity of children within the nuclear family and permit children to see the parent's genitals, (c) factors that lead to the siblings relying on one another for affection (e.g., diminished maternal affection), and (d) factors that eroticize young children (e.g., child sexual abuse [CSA] by a parent). Thirty-eight of the 137 SI participants were participants in coerced sibling incest (CSI). In order of decreasing predictive power, risk factors for CSI identified by multiple logistic regression analysis included ever having shared a bed for sleeping with a brother, PCI, witnessing parental physical fighting, and family nudity. SI was more likely to have been reported as CSI if the sibling had touched the reporting sibling's genitals, and less likely to have been reported as CSI if the siblings had shared a bed.
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Sibling incest: treatment of the family and the offender
Abstract
Sibling incest takes place in the context of a family system that does not provide a safe environment for its members. Treatment should encompass all pertinent aspects of the family system and the roles of all the family members within it, and intact boundaries must be created. Hierarchical realignment diminishes enmeshed subsystems and produces more open, honest communication in the family. The offender must take responsibility for his or her behavior. This stance should be supported by the parents. All family members should adhere to a safety plan throughout the treatment process.
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Sibling Incest Dynamics: Therapeutic Themes and Clinical Challenges
Abstract
Increasing empirical evidence points to the prevalence and devastating effects of sibling incest. The dynamics of incestuous sibling relationships are complex and typically embedded in severely dysfunctional families. Often confused and/or distressed by their incestuous experiences, many victims fail to disclose the abuse. Left undisclosed and untreated, unresolved issues of mutuality and consequent shame and guilt can lead to life-long emotional problems and dysfunctional behavioral patterns that are difficult to repair. Two cases illustrate common therapeutic themes, the importance of timely disclosure and coordinated, multi-dimensional treatment approaches, as well as the therapeutic challenges of assisting sibling incest victims who present for treatment as adults.
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The Family Secret documentary and what social workers need to know about sibling sexual abuse
Channel 4's recent documentary shone a rare spotlight on sibling sexual abuse. A specialist social worker explains what practitioners can do to support victims of this type of harm and their families
Channel 4 recently aired a one-off documentary on sexual abuse within a family. The Family Secret (available online till 2 January) followed Kath and her family some 25 years after she was abused by her older brother, Robert, in their childhoods. The programme laid bare the traumatic effects of historic sexual abuse on Kath, leading to a restorative justice meeting with Robert in which he heard about the harm Kath experienced and offered an apology.
Programmes such as this are something of a rarity and serve an important role by stimulating discussion about the reality of child sexual abuse. Media representations of abuse influence public perceptions of risk, and consequently the response to such concerns by professionals, organisations and policy-makers (Cowburn and Dominelli, 2001).
However, sibling sexual abuse has received only a small amount of attention in practice, policy and research literature. Research studies vary in quality and are mostly based on small samples, limiting their transferability. Nevertheless, there are a number of key findings from the research that are useful for social workers when responding to this critical practice issue, which this article will briefly summarise. Community Care Inform also provides further guidance and resources for social workers responding to sibling sexual abuse.
What is sibling sexual abuse?
Not all sexual behaviours between siblings are harmful and it is important to distinguish children’s sexual play and exploration from behaviour that constitutes abuse. Similar to harmful sexual behaviour involving children outside of the family, sibling sexual harm usually includes developmentally atypical behaviours, differences in power, some degree of coercion or force and an absence of consent.
Sibling sexual abuse definitions lack consensus and this makes it difficult to estimate rates of sibling sexual harm when comparing such a wide range of behaviours.
At least as common and harmful as other forms of family abuse
Sibling sexual harm is believed to be the most common form of all family sexual abuse (Krienert and Walsh, 2011), with some estimates that it is at least five times more prevalent than parent-to-child sexual abuse (Smith and Israel, 1987). Research suggests that sibling sexual abuse is rarely a one-off occurrence (Katz and Hamama, 2017) and those who sexually harm siblings commit more acts of abuse, and over longer periods of time than young people who abuse extra-familial children (Tidefors et al, 2010).
Sexual abuse between siblings has far-reaching effects on the health and wellbeing of victims (Warrington et al, 2017), and is considered by some as no less harmful than when a parent or other adult is the perpetrator (Caffaro, 2017). Although the most commonly occurring sexual behaviour amongst siblings is exposing, fondling or rubbing genitals (Krienert and Walsh, 2011), penetrative abuse and use of force are higher when compared to harmful sexual behaviours involving non-sibling children (Tidefors et al, 2010).
Relationships between siblings
In the family in the documentary, Kath had been abused by her older brother Robert and this is the most common relationship where we see sibling sexual harm.
However, social workers should also be alert to sexual abuse between same-sex siblings (Krienert and Walsh, 2011). Caution is also urged when making assumptions about sexual behaviours between similar-aged siblings. Age differences typically indicate power differentials between children. However, this appears to be much less reliable when considering sibling abuse, with ages making no significant reported differences to levels of force, coercion or impact on victims in later life (Cyr et al, 2002).
The relationship dynamics between siblings are likely to be of much greater relevance than their age differences (Allardyce and Yates, 2013).
Wider family difficulties
Individual characteristics alone are insufficient when attempting to understand and respond to sibling sexual abuse. Social workers need to consider the wider ecology in which the abuse occurs, including family, community and societal factors.
Sibling sexual abuse commonly takes place within the context of multiple family difficulties, including neglect, physical abuse and family conflict. Parental stress and family difficulties appear to be more extensive in families where the sexual harm has involved sibling children. Some research has found that children who harmed siblings were more likely to have been exposed to adult sexual behaviours or pornography in the absence of direct supervision and clear boundaries. (Smith and Israel, 1987; Latzman et al, 2011)
In family environments where children witness violence and aggressive communication, siblings may model these behaviours. Children who experience rejecting, unavailable, or emotionally absent parenting may increasingly rely on one another for affection and comfort to compensate. Within these conditions, the sibling bond can become sexualised through curiosity, the onset of puberty and inattentive parenting (Worling 1995; Tidefors et al, 2010).
We should therefore consider the wider trauma and abuse both siblings may have been exposed to. Young people who display harmful sexual behaviours have high levels of victimisation, especially sexual victimisation, and may have been exposed to multiple forms of abuse in early childhood (Hackett et al, 2013). There is some evidence that a higher proportion of children who harmed siblings had themselves been sexually abused when compared to those who harmed extra-familial children (Tidefors et al, 2010; Krienert and Walsh, 2011; Latzman et al, 2011).
Supporting the whole family
Viewers of The Family Secret quite naturally expressed anger and castigated Robert for the harm he caused to his sister. However, if we consider sibling sexual abuse to be a family issue, then it is imperative that social workers’ interventions include the whole family rather than focusing only on the victim and the child who harmed. That is not to say that the behaviour is condoned, but a supportive and holistic approach is likely to be more effective than any individual response (Thornton et al, 2008). The responsibility for addressing sibling sexual abuse and ensuring future safety should be shared by the family, and include multi-agency support for all of the children and adults, not only those who were directly harmed.
Sibling sexual abuse is a complex and emotionally-charged issue. Emotions are inextricably tied to practice decisions (Ingram, 2013), however our professional judgement should also be informed by the available evidence-base. Sexual abuse is often hidden and secretive, and professionals need to be confident in recognising non-verbal indicators in order to effectively recognise and respond to it.
Specific attention to the sexual behaviour concerns is crucial, but a systemic perspective on family relationships and abuse dynamics is also needed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the family’s wider needs. Specialist services can provide expertise through consultation, assessment and interventions.
Given what we know about the broader family difficulties preceding sibling sexual harm, it is also essential that access to community-based groups and family support services is available if we are to prevent sibling sexual behaviours much earlier and before these concerns escalate.
When sibling sexual abuse is unaddressed, the emotional impact throughout the family can be profound and viewers of The Family Secret were left with a palpable sense of the enduring pain for all family members with some relationships fractured beyond repair.
Spencer Bailey is a social worker specialising in practice with children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours and a postgraduate researcher in the area of sibling sexual abuse. He tweets @SpencerBaileyUK
