Abstract
Parsons has popularized the myth that mother-son incest is the most damaging form of incest. A review of sixteen cases casts doubts on this belief. It was found that responses to this type of incest are multi-dimensional, representing an extraordinary range of behavior not foreseen by Parsons. This leads to the conclusion that motherson incest does not trigger some innate biological response, but that the effects are more directly related to the symbolic meanings attributed to this act by the participants.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen C. (1962).A Textbook of Psychosexual Disorders. London: Oxford.
Bender, L. & Blau, A. (1937). The reaction of children to sexual relations with adults.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 7, 500–518.
Bender, L. & Grugett, Jr., A. E. (1952). A follow-up report on children who had atypical sexual experience.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 22, 825–837.
Berry, G. W. (1975). Incest: Some clinical variations on a classical theme.Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 3, 151–161.
Frances, V. & Frances, A. (1976). The incest taboo and family structure.Family Process, 15, 235–244.
Groth, A. N. (1979).Men Who Rape. New York: Plenum.
Groth, A. N. (1982). The incest offender. In S. M. Sgroi (Ed.),Handbook of Clinical Intervention in Child Sexual Abuse (pp. 215–239). Lexington, MA: Lexington.
Guttmacher, M. S. (1951).Sex Offenses, the Problem, Causes, and Prevention. New York: Norton.
Kubo, S. (1959). Researches and studies on incest in Japan.Hiroshima Journal of Medical Sciences, 8, 99–159.
Lakianowicz, N. (1972). Incest.British Journal of Psychiatry, 120, 301–313.
Masters, R. E. L. (1963).Patterns of Incest. New York: Julian.
Meiselman, K. C. (1979).Incest: A Psychological Study of Causes and Effects. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.
Parsons, T. (1954). The incest taboo in relation to social structure and the socialization of the child.British Journal of Sociology, 5, 101–117.
Parsons, T. & Bales, R. F. (1955).Family, Socialization and Interaction Process. New York: The Free Press.
Schwartzman, J. (1974). The individual, incest and exogamy.Psychiatry, 37, 171–180.
Shelton, W. R. (1975). A study of incest.International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 19, 139–153.
Shengold, L. (1980). Some reflections on a case of mother/adolescent son incest.International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 61, 461–476.
Silber, A. (1979). Childhood seduction, parental pathology and hysterical symptomatology: The genesis of an altered state of consciousness.International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 60, 109–116.
Sloane, P. & Karpinski, E. (1942). Effects of incest on the participants.American Journal of Othropsychiatry, 12, 666–673.
Summit, R. & Kryso, J. (1978). Sexual abuse of children: A clinical spectrum.The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 48, 237–251.
Wahl, C. W. (1960). The psychodynamics of consummated maternal incest: A report of two cases.Archives of General Psychiatry, 3, 188–193.
Yates, A. (1982). Children eroticized by incest.American Journal of Psychiatry, 4, 482–485.
Yorukoglu, A., & Kemph, J. P. (1966). Children not severely damaged by incest with a parent.Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 5, 111–124.
Zaphiris, A. (1978). Assessment and treatment for sexually abused families. Presented at the meeting of the National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Leslie Margolin received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Address reprint requests to Leslie Margolin, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Margolin, L. The effects of mother-son incest. J Fam Econ Iss 8, 104–114 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01553341
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01553341