Examining Incest and Child Sexual Abuse in American Society 

Incest is defined as the act of sexual relations between close relatives. This includes parent, child, sibling, or grandchild relations. The specific behavior that classifies sexual relations as incest varies across different cultures and societies. However, nearly all societies consider incest a taboo. In the United States, incest can be broken down into many subcategories, and the legality of each varies across states. For example, incest between consenting adults is considered a criminal offense, in all but two states - New Jersey and Rhode Island. However, in the case of child sexual abuse, it is considered a crime in all states. Despite this, child sexual abuse remains one of the most common, yet unreported crimes in America.

Child sexual abuse is a complex social issue, and its facets are vast. In this paper I will examine the issue of child sexual abuse, through Sigmund Freud’s theory of the Oedipus Complex, as well as his theory of Repression in the unconscious mind. First I will draw connections between the Oedipus Complex and how it may relate to the occurrence of child sexual abuse. Then, I will switch gears and go on to discuss the impact of child sexual abuse and how Repression in the unconscious mind of the victim may occur.

Sigmund Freud, the famous Austrian neurologist, and father of psychoanalysis took interest in the topic of incest and dedicated a large portion of his book, “Totem and Taboo” to this subject. In his book, Freud discusses how the incest taboo came into being, and why it is present in nearly all human societies. He does so by using his theory of the Oedipus Complex, which he developed based on the tale of a Greek tragic hero, Oedipus, who unknowingly killed his father to consummate a marriage with a woman whom he had a strong attraction to as a child, which he later finds out is his mother.

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of The Oedipus Complex describes an important aspect of the phallic stage - the third stage out of five, of a child’s psychosexual development. During this stage, the child is libidinally attracted to its caretaker and has feelings of resentment for the other parent. Freud emphasizes that this Complex reaches its peak during the phallic stage when children are between the ages 3-6. It is also important to note that a child is only able to healthily enter the next stage of sexual development if a total dissolution of the Oedipus Complex takes place.

This complicated psychosexual transition that occurs in parent-child relations has been used to examine the epidemic of child sexual abuse in this country. In the United States, “[1] 90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way. 68% are abused by a family member.” Some sociologists have made connections between child sexual abuse by parents and the Oedipus Complex. One sociologist, in particular, Peter Loader, provides a family perspective on Freud’s “Oedipus Complex”. In his piece, Loader suggests that this psychosexual transition in itself is difficult for not only the child but the parent as well. “[2] The move from exclusive dyadic relationships to triangular family systems is a challenge to parents as well as children. Their failure to negotiate this transition represents a profound family dysfunction that can lead to mistreatment of the child, including frank child abuse.” In other words, there may be cases where parents are unable to mediate their child’s natural progression from the sexually charged phallic oedipal phase, to the Latent stage, and this failure to reach dissolution of the Oedipus Complex stage may lead to family dysfunctions, such as sexual abuse.

Another scholar who further highlights the implications of the Oedipal stage, as it pertains to child sexual abuse is Anna Freud, who happens to be the daughter of Sigmund Freud. Similar to Loader, Anna emphasizes the fragility of the Oedipal Stage in her piece. While on one hand, Loader discusses the challenges faced by both child and parent during the Oedipal Stage, Anna Freud, takes it a step further and analyzes the effect that disruption of the Oedipal stage has on a child. She argues that “[3] Normal progress towards adult forms of sexuality depends on careful handling of these very vulnerable processes, on the one hand not to interfere with their sequential order, on the other hand neither totally to frustrate nor excessively give license to them.” In other words, any form of sexual abuse during this period will harm a child’s normal developmental growth significantly. Anna Freud goes on to say that in terms of detrimental effects, this disruption ranks higher than “[4] abandonment, neglect, physical maltreatment, or any other form of abuse.”

These two sociologists offer insightful perspectives on the implications of the Oedipus Complex in regards to child sexual abuse. However, in my research, I did find one area that was not covered by any studies - and that is to explain the reverse attraction. Many studies tend to ignore the flip side of the situation in explaining the perpetrator’s psychological and sexual attraction to a child.

To shift gears, I will now discuss the aftermath of child sexual abuse and the effect that such trauma has on the unconscious mind of the victim. As I mentioned before, child sexual abuse is among the most common, yet unreported crimes in the United States. Victims of sexual abuse are less likely to come forward than victims of other crimes due to several reasons. Some of the main reasons involve shame and fear of stigma. However, there is one less discussed reason that prevents victims from reporting sexual abuse crimes, and that is the repression of memories surrounding the event of sexual abuse. According to the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, in the “[5] past 10 years, scientific studies have demonstrated a connection between childhood trauma and amnesia.” Sigmund Freud proposed an idea that would support this connection almost a century ago - the idea of Repression.

To understand Repression, one must first understand the human psyche as explained by Freud. Freud believed that the human psyche was composed of three main parts - the Id, Ego, and Superego. The Id was referred to by Freud as a “seething cauldron of excitement”. This part of our psyche is moved by libidinal energy and instant gratification. In other words, it “obeys” the Pleasure Principle. The Ego serves as a sort of check and balance, which differs from the Id, obeys the Reality Principle. The Reality Principle can be understood as acceptable behavior within the norms of a society. Finally, the Superego has an agency of morality and assesses the impulses of the Id. It is also said to arise out of the dissolution of the Oedipus Complex. The Id and Superego are thought to be in constant conflict with one another, with the Id tending to act out after pleasure, and the Superego evaluating such impulses and making decisions based on morals. This inner conflict can be both conscious and subconscious.

This is where the Ego comes in, with its coping mechanisms to protect our conscious and unconscious, and lessen the effects of this conflict between the Id and the Superego. The most popular example of a defense mechanism is Repression. Repression refers to the ego’s efforts to keep certain anxiety-inducing thoughts and impulses buried deep in our subconscious and out of our awareness.

In the case of child sexual abuse, “[6] some therapists maintain that traumatic experiences during childhood, such as CSA, are often repressed because they are too difficult to assimilate into one's experience.” In addition, it is claimed that the “[7] recovery of these repressed memories result from, and manifests through other psychological symptoms.”

Through his sessions with patients, Freud noticed that his subjects reported feelings of improvement only after they discussed their traumas. If a patient seemed to have repressed memories and feelings, Freud would use “[8] techniques of hypnosis, leading, suggestion, to “recover” them.” Modern-day therapists also use these techniques in the clinical treatment of child sexual abuse. However many professionals in both psychology and sociology question the efficacy of these techniques. In Freud’s case, the reports produced by his patients from recovered memories were later abandoned as he began to question the validity of these memories. The question became whether these memories were actually recovered or constructed.

Present-day psychologists and sociologists encounter a similar issue. With new studies constantly being performed, and new data frequently coming out surrounding child sexual abuse, alternative theories on memory are being formed. Some of which challenge Freud’s theories on repression. For example, some researchers have described memory as “[9] reconstructive rather than reproductive.”

The prevalence of child sexual abuse in the United States is extremely concerning. However, there is very little public discourse on the topic due to the taboo around it. As sociologists, we must direct attention to this matter, and revive the discourse regarding this type of crime.