Attributions of responsibility in father-daughter incest in relation to gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and experiential differences in participants

Abstract

One hundred and fifty-seven state college undergraduates (84 females and 73 males) answered the Jackson Incest Blame Scale [JIBS] modified to include mother-blaming after reading one of four vignettes about father-daughter incest in high or low SES White or Black families. Responses about incest prevalence (created for this study) in families with different ethnic and SES backgrounds varied with gender and SES of participants. Gender differences include blame of offender, situation, victim, and mother on the modified JIBS. Parents blamed the offender more than non-parents. Participants who knew an incest survivor disagreed significantly more with victim-blaming statements than those who did not know a survivor of incest.

College Students' Attribution of Blame in Father–Daughter Incest

“…The support of Hypothesis 1, the attribution of blame in incest is multidimensional, was not surprising because similar results have been found in earlier studies (Adams, 1987;Jackson & Ferguson, 1983;McKenzie & Calder, 1993;Staley & Lapidus, 1997). These findings indicate that incest prevention and educational programs should continue to use multiple means to reach the broad spectrum of society, thereby touching on each of the four attribution factors.…”

“…Hypothesis 2, male participants will blame the incest victim (Factor 1) more than female participants, resulted in an F ratio of > p = .058. Although not statistically significant, these findings are only slightly more positive than those found in earlier studies by Jackson and Ferguson (1983), Adams (1987), and Staley and Lapidus (1997).…”

“…Attribution theory attempts to explain others' behavior by attributing it to their internal disposition or to situational factors. Using this theoretical approach, negative behaviors of groups such as abusive husbands or incestuous fathers would be attributed to something within the husband or father's makeup (Staley & Lapidus, 1997). Believing that incest occurs because the perpetrator is "mentally ill" or that incest primarily exists in lowincome families, for example, are attribution of blame distancing techniques.…”

“…Within the past few decades, empirical studies have attempted to measure attribution of blame in father-daughter incest (Adams, 1987;Jackson & Ferguson, 1983;McKenzie & Calder, 1993;Staley & Lapidus, 1997). Although affirming that incest is caused by multidimensional factors, a major outcome of these studies was that in every study male participants blamed the victims more than female participants blamed the victim (Adams, 1987;Jackson & Ferguson, 1983;McKenzie & Calder, 1993;Staley & Lapidus, 1997). Men in these studies believed the victims provoked and were responsible for the incest because they used bad judgment or acted seductively and deserved what they got.…”

“…The Jackson Incest Blame Scale (JIBS; Jackson, Quevillon, & Petric-Jackson, 1985) is widely used to measure attribution of blame in father-daughter incest (Staley & Lapidus, 1997). The JIBS 20-item scale consists of demographic questions, such as age, gender, university status, college, and marital status, in addition to questions regarding the respondent's view of who or what is to blame when incest occurs.…”