Risk Factors in Father-Daughter Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Child sexual abuse continues to be a problem within the United States with both the numbers of reported cases, and quite probably the number of actual cases continuing to grow. Of particular interest are the cases of father/daughter-stepfather/stepdaughter sexual abuse. The current literature has discussed at length many of the risk factors associated with this form of sexual assault. Unfortunately, much of the literature is either based on clinical studies or on surveys of adults. The current study described in this article uses an epidemiologic case-control approach to study the problem. In total, 34 current case families and 68 controls responded to a self-administered questionnaire. The data provided by these subjects were analyzed using the multivariate technique of logistic regression. Four variables are indicated as having a strong relationship to risk for this form of sexual assault. These four variables are income, marital satisfaction, closeness of the mother-daughter relationship, and violence between the abuser and the spouse. The results of this analysis are discussed in terms of interrelational theory and current treatment practices and recommendations are made concerning future research endeavors.