Freud brought the concept of incestuous impulses and their repression into the mainstream of developmental psychology and emphasized the importance of incestuous stimulation as a source of psychopathology. Traditions of denial and victim blaming were established in the psychotherapeutic community, and Freud's belief that incestuous acting out would be traumatic for children was discounted by academic clinicians. In the 1950's and 1960's, serious examination of incestuous behavior began. Studies in social agencies and prisons established characteristics of incestuous fathers and studies of incestuous families in psychotherapy revealed the dynamics of family interactions. Interest in incest research peaked in the 1970's when incest became recognized as a social problem, and federal funds were allocated for incest treatment programs and primary prevention. The convergence of two social movements in the 1970's, the child protection lobby and the women's movement, directed the attention of the professional community upon the problem of incest. Two broad categories of therapeutic intervention in incest focused on intervention in a currently involved family and treatment of long-term after-effects in victims of incest. The recent formation of self-help groups of incest victims and correspondence networks have provided victims with a new and important social support system. (NRB)