Cognitive Adaptation of Female Incest Survivors

A survey questionnaire was completed by 142 adult female incest survivors. It was hypothesized that the closeness between the offender and the survivor at the time of the abuse (termed perceived incestuousness) was related to adult functioning and that this relationship could be explained, in part, by the level of accomplishment of three cognitive coping tasks (Taylor, 1983). These tasks an searching for the meaning of a threatening event, regaining a sense of mastery over the event and over one's life generally, and enhancing one's self-esteem by engaging in downward social comparisons. The mediational model as described was not supported because perceived incestuousness was not significantly related to the tasks or to adult functioning. Most of the tasks, however, were significantly related to adult functioning, providing some empirical support for Taylor's (1983) model.