Prevalence of incest

To obtain prevalence estimates for incest, it seems reasonable to use the general prevalence estimates for sexual abuse combined with the following rate estimates for the type of relationship:

Data from meta-analysis by Rind et.al. 1998

Prevalence Rate Estimates of Type of Relationship Between CSA Respondents and Partners/Abusers in College and National Populations

	Wider Family CSA				Close Family CSA
	Collegea		Nationalb		Collegec		Nationalb
Gender	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
female	2735	37	606	34	792	20	606	15
male	580	23	375	13	270	8	375	4
combined	3569	35	981	26	1275	16	981	11

Note. Close family CSA includes sexual relations with very close relatives (e.g., biological or step parents, grandparents, older siblings). Wider family CSA includes both close family CSA and relations with other relatives. Prevalence rate estimates are weighted means of prevalences from individual samples. College estimates come from studies included in the current review; national estimates come from 3 studies of national samples (Baker & Duncan, 1985; Laumann et al., 1994; Lopéz et al., 1995).
a Based on 21, 9, and 33 samples for females, males, and combined, respectively.
b Based on 3, 3, and 6 samples for females, males, and combined, respectively.
c Based on 10, 6, and 19 samples for females, males, and combined, respectively.