Recognizing the incestuous family.

Family physicians are in the best position to diagnose incest because of the nature of their practice. Yet many cases of incest are not recognized by the medical community and many incest victims are thus untreated. There are several behavioral and medical clues to incest, which the family physician needs to know in order to recognize incest early and improve the prognosis. Treatment is directed at the whole family, rather than just the active participants. Further research is needed to improve the application of various treatment modalities.