T h e Effects of M o t h e r - S o n I n c e s t

Leslie Margolin
Cornell University

ABSTRACT: Parsons has popularized the myth t h a t mother-son incest is the most dam-
aging form of incest. A review of sixteen cases casts doubts on this belief. It was found
t h a t responses to this type of incest are multi-dimensional, representing an extraordi-
n a r y range ofbehavior not foreseen by Parsons. This leads to the conclusion t h a t mother-
son incest does not trigger some innate biological response, but t h a t the effects are more
directly related to the symbolic meanings attributed to this act by the participants.

The idea that mother-son incest is the most damaging form of in-
cestuous behavior has been commonplace in psychiatric and sociolog-
ical literature for the last thirty years. Parsons (1954) followed by
Schwartzman (1974) and Frances and Frances (1976) argues that
mother-son incest is always extremely pathological, on both sides, but
especially the side of the son because the mother is the earliest and pri-
m a r y object of erotic attraction for the child. Father-daughter incest is
not considered so threatening, according to Parsons, presumably be-
cause overt sexual involvement with the father does not stimulate re-
gression to infantile levels of dependency. The primary question which
this paper will address is whether Parson's theory of mother-son incest
is supported by actual case experience. Is mother-son incest really the
most potentially regressive form of incest, commonly resu]ting in psy-
chosis, or should this form of incest be interpreted by a different set of
expectations? These questions are seen as important since most of the
research concerning sexual assault has concentrated on the female vic-
tim. In addition, recent studies suggest that incest between mothers
and sons may be much more common than was once believed. For ex-
ample, Groth (1982) says that t h e generally accepted physical inti-
macy between small children and their mother's may serve to conceal
many incidents of sexual exploitation. According to Zaphiris (1978) the

Leslie Margolin received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lin-

coln. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of H u m a n Devel-
opment and Family Studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Address reprint requests to Leslie Margolin, Visiting Assistant Professor, D e p a r t m e n t
of H u m a n Development and Family Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.

104 Lifestyles: A Journal of Changing Patterns

© 1986 Human Sciences Press
Leslie Margolin 105

comparatively low rates of reporting mother-son incest may be due to

the reluctance of police and other social agencies to recognize that this
form of abuse may actually be occurring.
To set the stage for the discussion, Parson's theory of incest will be
presented, including the contributions of Schwartzman and Frances
and Frances. This will be followed by a survey of published cases of
mother-son incest. The only criteria for selecting these cases is that
they document in some fashion the son's response to the incestuous
event. Finally, Parsons' theory of incest will be assessed in the light of
this case material.

Parsons' Theory of Incest

Parsons (1954) sees the regulation of the child's erotic interest in the
mother as an extraordinarily potent force for socialization. This force
is believed to have two dimensions. One dimension is organically spe-
cific, comparable to the pleasure of hunger-gratification or stroking,
while the other is diffuse in nature involving a general sense of well-
being. This diffuse attachment to the mother is considered most impor-
tant as a means of socializing the child since it is used to develop need
systems and values. By means of alternatively satisfying and frustrat-
ing the child, the mother uses the child's erotic interest in her as a
lever by which he is motivated to learn new goals and new skills. Thus
the child's sexual tie to the mother is seen as the "'rope' by which she
pulls him up from a lower to higher level in the hard climb of'growing
up'" (1954, p. 111). Parsons suggests that if the mother satisfies the
child completely at any of the points at which the "rope" is attached, he
will not be motivated to pursue higher, more abstract goal systems. In
this sense, the mother is characterized as a strategist who grants just
enough erotic gratification to keep the child deeply interested, while
withholding complete gratification in order to motivate the child to
seek higher levels of development. Parsons (1954, p. 111) claims that
the earliest infantile needs are never extinguished, only repressed in a
rather tenuous fashion "because the points of attachment of the 'rope'
remain sensitive," carrying with them the potential to pull the child
back into the powerful infantile motivational system. Parsons refers to
Freud's three stages of development, oral, anal, and phallic, and sug-
gests that each of these stages leaves a residuum of erotic structures
which can be reactivated at any time. It is claimed that "unrestricted
erotic gratification" with the mother represents the very prototype of
regression, not only for children, but for mature persons as well. Since