This research was designed to find out more about the characteristics of fathers who sexually abuse their daughters, with the goal of helping to prevent such abuse and to identify possibly high risk populations. The sample consisted of 118 recently identified incestuous biological fathers and a matched comparison group of 116 non-abusive…

This paper reviews clinical experience and research evidence about father-daughter incest and family sexual abuse, and suggests six factors important in its etiology: the personal characteristics of the offender; the role of the mother; a milieu of abandonment; subcultural isolation; poor family sexual boundaries; and opportunity factors. (Author)