Assessing the Incestuous Family's Readiness for Reconstitution

Given the lack of empirical data concerning factors associated with successful vs. unsuccessful treatment of incestuous families, professionals urgently need to develop systems for coordinating and evaluating ongoing therapeutic efforts. The authors outline the factors that are usually considered important for making decisions about the appropriateness of family reconstitution during or after the treatment of intrafamilial sexual abuse. Attributions of responsibility for the abuse, protection of the child from further abuse, overall level of family functioning, and characteristics of the abuse and the offender are discussed. Problematic assessment issues are discussed in relation to the use of these factors as a guide for decision making, and questions are raised on which to base research regarding each factor's ability to predict further abuse.