an ancestor or descendant of the whole or half blood or.
Ī Class C felony, punishable by a prison term of ".not more than 10 years or less than 1 year and 1 day." and a fine of up to $15,000.
His aunt, uncle, nephew or niece of the whole or half-blood.
His stepchild or stepparent, while the marriage creating the relationship exists or.
His brother or sister of the whole or half-blood or by adoption or.
His ancestor or descendant by blood or adoption or.
: States : Federal district : Territories : Laws regarding incest in the United States The table below summarizes these laws for individual U.S. Cases of parent-adult child incest exposed to law enforcement are usually uncovered by another parent. Ohio allows incest between consenting adults only when one party is not a parental figure (see table below) to the other.Īs of 2010, cases of incest involving consenting adults are often not revealed to outside parties, and therefore prosecutions of these cases do not frequently occur. New Jersey also increases the severity of underage sex offenses by a degree if they are also incestuous, and criminalizes incest with 16-17 year olds (the normal age of consent in New Jersey is 16). In New Jersey and Rhode Island, incest between consenting adults (16 or over for Rhode Island, 18 or over for New Jersey) is not a criminal offense, though marriage is not allowed in either state. In all but two states (and the special case of Ohio, which "targets only parental figures"), incest is criminalized between consenting adults. Printed with permission from the Concerned Parents Report.Further information: Sexuality in the United States 1ġStepfather Involvement and Adolescents’ Disposition Toward Having Sex, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Vol. The researchers of this study noted that different factors seem to influence males’ and females’ motivations to participate in sexual activity and prevention programs should be structured with these differences in mind. Females’ attitudes towards sex seemed to be tied more to their religious beliefs and their biological mothers’ attitudes towards sex. The researchers found that the greater the involvement was between adolescents and their stepfathers, the less likely the adolescents were to engage in sexual activity however, this association mainly held true for males. The stepfathers in these families were examined, as was the overall parental involvement and maternal attitudes toward sex. Researchers used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and narrowed their sample to adolescents who were living in households that were headed by biological mothers. However, some previous studies have found that a stepfather’s presence may be influential on a stepchild in that they can provide cohesion, support, control, and emotional closeness that many biological fathers provide in traditional family settings. Many children tend to view their step-parents as friends or advisors who hold less authority than their own biological parents and stepfathers may have only minimal impact on their stepchild’s attitudes toward sexual activity. There has been previous research conducted on the stepfather-stepchild relationship and the attitudes stepchildren have toward sex. According to this study, about one-third of all children in the United States will have lived with a remarried or cohabiting parent before they reach adulthood. This number was up from 4.5 million children living in stepfamily households in 1991. When the relationship between a stepfather and stepchild is close, the stepfather may actually influence his stepchild’s attitudes towards sex.Īccording to a study featured in Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, there was an average of 5 million children living in a stepfamily household in 2001 (with the majority of those living with their biological mother and a stepfather). About one-third of all children in the United States will have lived with a remarried or cohabiting parent before they reach adulthood.