Misconceptions about Freud's seduction theory: comment on Gleaves and Hernandez (1999).
D. H. Gleaves and E. Hernandez (1999) write in relation to the seduction theory that "recent writers now argue that ... Freud never made discoveries of sexual abuse" (p. 332) and that "the assertion that Freud did not make discoveries of abuse is unwarranted" (p. 324). In this article an outline of the case that Freud had no adequate grounds for his 1896 claims of having uncovered infantile "sexual scenes" is given. Some of the more important misconceptions and erroneous arguments in Gleaves and Hernandez's article are then examined.
Esterson
A
A
allenesterson@compuserve.com
D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000266:history*; D002665:Child Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006663:Historiography; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant