The Psychopathology of Incest - What "drives" a man/woman to this kind of behavior?

[Kombian]

SWIM is studying Psychology, and turned to me for an answer to this question. He knows I'm in Psychiatry, and that I have a great deal of knowledge about Psychopathology and Psychology.

But his question left me at a los for words. I know that incest is often a question of power and/or sexual attraction, but he was more interrested in what actually makes someone decide to have sex with their own child, nephew or niece.

 

In my short career in Psychiatry(mostly Social Psychiatry), I have never come across anyone comitting, or being subject to these actions. I was hoping you could help me answer my friends question.

 

Sorry for my mediocre English. My excuse is; I'm Norwegian.

 

 

[Kombian]

116 views, and not a hint of an answer?

[Ringer]

The only mention of it I have heard has to do with the amount of time and dedication one puts into a family member, excluding situations where there is no other mate choice. Meaning that if, say, a parent wasn't around during the developmental period of its child the brain never 'encoded' them as a family member so they are as viable a mate as any other member of a group. I don't know how much support that idea has though.

[overtone]

The more interesting question would be what prevents or deflects what would otherwise be an obvious mating situation.

 

I have no idea, for example, why as a teenager and as driven, sexually, as a sane person could handle (or more), I never found any of my sisters sexually interesting - it certainly wasn't for lack of physical attractiveness on their part, or personal dislike, or great disparity in age. I was sexually interested in forty year old drugstore clerks with too much makeup, housewives in overcoats pushing baby carriages, an entire school full of girls that spun my head every three minutes from far down the hall in a crowd, complete strangers walking down sidewalks half-glimpsed from car windows, abstract paintings that somehow had the right set of curves to them: so why not the three nubile and friendly and healthy and playful young women I saw every day in their pajamas or less, right in my own house?

 

There's your mystery.

[Joatmon]

I am the father of two girls and had what I assume to be the normal feelings of only wanting to protect them.

However I understand that it is quite common for siblings who have been separated by adoption to feel sexually attracted to each other when they meet as adults. You might like to read:-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_sexual_attraction