EXAMINATION OF COPING RESOURCES AND FAMILY ADAPTATION IN MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS OF INCESTUOUS VERSUS NONCLINICAL FAMILIES

Mother-daughter dyads from incestuous versus nonclinical families were compared in terms of (a) family life stress, (b) problem-solving appraisal, (c) direct coping behaviors, (d) mother-daughter communication, and (e) family adaptation and cohesion. Fifteen mother-daughter pairs from an incestuous family involving an adult male caretaker were matched on several variables to 16 mother-daughter pairs from a nonclinical family. The results revealed that mothers from the incest group (compared with the nonclinical group) reported greater amounts of family life stress, had more negative perceptions of their problem-solving appraisal, and reported more communication difficulties. The daughters from the incest group appeared to be quite similar to the nonclinical group daughters, although they did acknowledge more family stress. Implications of the results for therapeutic interventions as well as future research were discussed.