Who is to Blame for Sibling Incest?

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Demographics The most common pattern is that the older sibling becomes the abuser of the younger sibling, often against his or her will. In many cases, both parents were inaccessible. The fathers were deceased, or had abandoned their families after the birth of the child. The mothers were non-available because of drug addiction, alcoholism and/or mental illness. Further, families with non-divorced parents were characterized by parents engaged in extramarital affairs and exposing the children to a sexual climate. The absence of the father in chaotic families can lead to girls being abused by their brothers. In one study, 32 adolescent sibling offenders and 28 adolescent non-sibling offenders were compared (Royzman, Leeman, & Sabini, 2008)The sibling offender group reported significantly more marital discord (between parents), parental rejection, physical discipline, negative family atmosphere and general dissatisfaction with family relationships. Family factors related to sibling incest namely, parental rejection, abuse and marital conflicts. Their conclusion is that family dynamics have a key role in creating the context where sibling Incest could occur. Many sibling offenders have also grown up in families with many children; the average being three. Some studies point to neglect as an underlying dimension of sibling incest and that an older sibling is using a younger sibling to satisfy emotional needs, rather than a need for sexual gratification (Hargett, 2007). Parental rejection is also found to be more frequent in a sibling incest group than in a non-sibling group (Walsh & Krienert, 2011). A substantial proportion of parents of sibling incest offenders had themselves been victims of sexual and/or physical abuse; this could pa... ... middle of paper ... ...tment need. Journal of Child Sexual Abuser, 245-258. Linda Bass, D. H.-M. (2006). Making Sense of Abuse: Case studies in sibling incest. Contemporary Family Therapy, 87-108. Phillips-Green, M. J. (2002). Sibling Incest. The Family Journal, 195-201. Royzman, E., Leeman, R., & Sabini, J. (2008). "You make me sick": Moral dyspepsia as a reaction to third party sibling incest. 101-107. Thompson, K. (2009). Sibling Incest: A model for Group practice with adult female victims of Brother- Sister Incest. 532-536. Tidefors, I., Arvidsson, H., & Ingevaldson, S. (2010). Sibling incest: A literate review and clinical study. Journal of Sexual Agression, 348-358. Walsh, J., & Krienert, J. (2011). Sibling Sexual Abuse: an empirical analysis of offender, victim, and event characteristics in nation incident-based reporting system (NIBRS) data 2000-2007. Child Sexual Abuse, 353-370.

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