This article reviews psychoanalytic theory, clinical studies, and empirical investigations regarding the pathological effects of father-daughter incest. This literature suggests strong links between childhood incest and serious psychopathological sequelae, particularly borderline personality disorder. I propose a model for understanding the impact of incest, using the concept of identity as a mediating construct. Particular emphasis is placed on the role played by incest in the disruption of the developing boundary between internal and external reality. Such defects may result in the failure of age-appropriate divestment of the illusion of omnipotent control and the inappropriate persistence of efforts to control others. Thus, such disruptions may account for major aspects of borderline syndrome including identity diffusion, affective instability, and primitive defenses. A case vignette is presented as an illustration of the model's cogency with respect to the treatment of a borderline incest victim. Theoretical, treatment, and research implications are noted.Freud's abandonment of the seduction theory has been central to the development of psychoanalytic theory, but it may have discouraged clinicians from pursuing the implication of actual incest. Recent research and clinical studies have identified both immediate and long-term psychopathology associated with childhood incest. 1 An integration of these largely phenomenological accounts with psychoanalytic development theory might lay the foundation for a systematic formulation of the psychological effects of incest. Such a formulation provides direction for an empirically grounded, theoretically sound model by which therapeutic efforts may be informed.Toward such an integration, this article focuses on the relationship between identity disturbance, borderline personality disorder, and incest. I propose that incest potentially disrupts aspects of the separation-individuation pro-Requests for reprints should be sent to Barbara
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