Incest hoax: false accusations, false denials.

Expertise in investigating incest accusations is essential for psychiatrists because the law requires the reporting of sexual abuse of children. In such cases persistent and methodical investigation tends to yield a consensually credible view of what really happened without resort to special forensic techniques of truth-finding. In order to make a diagnosis of incest hoax, the investigator must thoroughly understand the mechanics of the hoax and the psychodynamics of the perpetrator. Failure to recognizing a delusional hoax can delay treatment for the perpetrator of the hoax. Failure to recognize a child's fabrication can subject the family to unnecessary legal action and unwittingly support the use of a similar manipulative technique by other susceptible children. Failure to recognize the false retraction of an incest accusation may leave the victim in danger of further sexual abuse or of physical punishment for having revealed the secret.