Determining Incestuous Contact between Parent and Child: Frequency of Children Touching Parents' Genitals in a Nonclinical Population

Abstract

Although little empirical evidence is available, ideas about how “typical” parents rear their children with respect to sexual issues have been influencing court proceedings. The fact that a child touched a parent's genitals on one occasion has recently been introduced in some child custody cases as supportive evidence of molestation. The authors report on a questionnaire study of this question among 576 children aged 2–10. Parents in this study report that such activity is not uncommon on an “incidental” basis even among 10-year-olds. The authors discuss some legal and psychological implications and child-rearing recommendations drawn from their findings.