Life changes and perceived psychosocial implications for child victims and their families following disclosure of incest

Abstract

This study addresses the ps-ychosocial implications of life changes occurring for children after disclo~ure of an incestuous relationship. Subjects ~ere 11 families obtained from the cas~load of .a county Depart~ent 6f Family and Child. Protective Services .. The· subjects w~re··f~male with ·a~e~ fr6m 5-17, black and white subjects we~e .. ~epr~sented. This was a descriptive study with data obtained from interviews with lawyers, therapists, mothers, and caseworkers. A content analysis approach was used for data analysis. Synthesis of the data revealed all families continued to experience turmoil yeats after the disclosure. Eleven categories. representing life changes were obtained from the data. The categories of famili di~ruption and"mother's inability t6 provide emotional support for her daughter were the most represented categorie~.