This study examines the relationship between reported history of incest and the subsequent development of bulimic behavior. A total of 38 women receiving treatment for reported incest abuse were compared with 27 control subjects who were also in treatment but who denied histories of sexual abuse. The results revealed that incest victims were significantly more likely to binge, vomit, experience a loss of control over eating, and report body dissatisfaction than control subjects. Incest victims also more frequently showed comorbidity with other maladaptive behaviors, such as alcohol abuse, suicidal gestures, self-mutilation, and cigarette smoking. These results suggest that incest may increase the risk for the development of bulimic behavior and that these eating problems may be a part of a larger pattern of dysfunctional efforts to regulate trauma-related emotional distress.

We examined connections between incest victims' family-of-origin and family-of-procreation characteristics in a sample of 40 American women who were in treatment for childhood or adolescent experiences of victimization. Retrospective data on their families-of-origin were collected along with their perceptions of current relationships with family members in the three-generational system. Results showed a close association between family-of-origin and family-of-procreation characteristics, especially in the areas of intergenerational intimacy, intergenerational fusion/individuation, and personal authority. A number of significant correlations were also found between subjects' past and present relationships with family-of-origin members and the dimensions of moral and religious orientation, achievement, and intellectual and cultural orientation, conflict, and control in their family-of-procreation. Some aspects of individual adjustment, including alienation, emotional discomfort, and defensiveness, were strongly related to various family-of-origin and family-of-procreation characteristics.

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