Attributional Effects of Therapy With Incestuous Families*

Abstract

This study examines the effects of a self‐help program, Parents United, on the members of families in which incest has occurred. Fifty‐six male incest offenders, including three grandfathers, and thirty‐five spouses were studied to assess the impact of the program on participants' attributions of responsibility for incest, changes in family relationships, and subsequent referral and recidivism. The program was successful in increasing participants' feelings of responsibility, and decreasing recidivism, but less successful in keeping the families together.

Attributions in marriage: Review and critique.

“…Coverage of the social psychological literature is limited to those analyses that have implications for conceptualization and measurement of attributions in the marital domain. Research on attributions in special populations, including separated and divorced couples (e.g., Stephen, 1987), dating couples (e.g., J. H. Harvey, Wells, & Alvarez, 1978; for review, see J. H. Harvey, 1987), abused wives (for review, see Holtzworth-Munroe, 1988), wives of prisoners (Fishman, 1986), and incestuous families (Sagatun, 1982), is also beyond the scope of this review. Finally, we do not discuss the literature on interpersonal perception and phenomenology in marriage.…”

Attributions for Blame and Responsibility Among Female Incest Victims

“…The results of the research, however, may be inconsistent with high degrees of pretreatment victim self-blame reported by Sagatun (1982Sagatun ( , 1984 and indicated in the literature (MacFarlane, 1986).…”

“…Only preliminary efforts have explored this area (Sagatun, 1982(Sagatun, , 1984. Brodsky (1976) proposed a four-factor multidimensional model of attributing blame in rape which can be utilized in studying incest: (a) Victim blame, in which the victim is seen as provoking the assault; (b) offender blame, where assault is considered to be a result of the offender's deviant behavior; (c) societal blame, which includes prevailing societal values which encourage or maintain the occurrence of assault; and (d) situational blame, which includes geographic and situational variables as well as family system variables.…”

Raising the Stakes in Child‐at‐Risk Cases Eliciting and Maintaining Parents' Motivation

“…Dale, Morrison, Davies, Noyes & Roberts (1983), for example, believe that it is necessary for them to wield their power as therapists to determine whether or not children will be removed from or returned to their homes. Sgroi (1985), Madanes (1990) and leaders of the self-help programme, Parents United, in the U.S.A. (Sagatun, 1982) maintain that parents in families in which incest occurs will participate in therapy only when backed into a corner by the external authority of the legal system. Furniss (1983) similarly argues that both the co-operation of child protection authorities and the criminal justice system (including the use of suspended sentences) are necessary to ensure access to the child and the father's co-operation in therapy.…”