PEDIATRICS Vol. 79 No. 2 February 1987, pp. 224-229
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Familial Bathing Patterns: Implications for Cases of Alleged Molestation and for Pediatric Practice

Alvin A Rosenfeld MD1, Bryna Siegel PhD1, and Robert Bailey MD1

1 From the Psychiatric Services, Jewish Child Care Association of New York and Teachers College Elbenwood Center for the Study of the Family as Educator, Columbia University, New York; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University Medical School, Palo Alto, California; and Menlo Park, California

In a cross-sectional study of how 576, upper-middle class children were socialized around bathing behaviors, families were found to be variable in their handling of bathing practices. But as a group, children were found to bathe alone more frequently as they grew older, and parents were found to bathe less frequently with the child of the opposite sex, particularly as children grew older. It was uncommon for mothers to bathe or shower with sons older than 8 years of age or for fathers to bathe or shower with daughters older than 9 years of age, although most had stopped before that age. This cross-sex aversion may be a reflection of the incest taboo. Several suggestions are made about the development-related changes in bathing practices identified in the study.

Key Words: family bathing • sexual molestation

Submitted on March 28, 1985
Accepted on April 25, 1986