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A study of clerics who commit sexual offenses: Are they different from other sex offenders
Abstract
The goal of this study was to determine if cleric-sex offenders differed significantly from other sex offenders when compared to a control group and assessed with standard instruments that examine the major factors important in sexual offenses.
Twenty-four male clerics accused of sexual offenses were compared to 24 male sex offender controls, matched on offense type, age, education, and marital status. Both groups were compared to a general sample of sex offenders (n = 2125) matched only for offense type. The three groups were compared on sexual history and preference, substance abuse, mental illness and personality, history of crime and violence, neuropsychological impairment, and endocrine abnormalities, using reliable and valid measures.
The clerics in this study formed a statistically significant highly educated, older, and predominantly single subgroup of sex offenders. The majority of cleric-sex offenders suffered from a sexual disorder (70.8%), predominantly homosexual pedophilia, as measured by phallometric testing, but did not differ from the control groups in this respect. The clerics were comparable to the other two groups in most respects, but tended to show less antisocial personality disorders and somewhat more endocrine disorders. The most noteworthy features differentiating the clerics from highly educated matched controls were that clerics had a longer delay before criminal charges were laid, or lacked criminal charges altogether, and they tended to use force more often in their offenses.
In spite of differences in age, education, and occupation between cleric-sex offenders and sex offenders in general, the same procedures should be used in the assessment of this group as for the sex offender population in general. Hypotheses about reduced sexual outlet and increased sexual abuse of clerics in childhood were not supported. Assessment and treatment of cleric-sex offenders should focus especially on sexual deviance, substance abuse, and endocrine disorders.
... Chronic offenders were more likely to have male victims (Mercado, Tallon, & Terry, 2008). Adult heterosexuality is the dominant sexual orientation of men who sexually abused prepubescent children of both sexes (Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000) leading Keenan (2011) to conclude that "sexual orientation has little or no bearing on sexual abuse of children or on victim selection" (p. 12). ...
... Of the remainder, due to the advanced age of many of the offending priests, disciplinary rules were applied forbidding them to celebrate Mass or hear confession and to "lead a retired life of prayer" (Keenan, 2011, p. 6 priests in the John Jay studies had a personality disorder), and substance misuse (17% had drug and/or alcohol problems). In one study, 71 percent of priests were diagnosed with a sexual disorder (Langevin et al., 2000), while in another, up to 50 percent of offending priests were judged to be emotionally and sexually immature, but only five percent had a diagnosable psychiatric disorder . Although the absolute proportion of priests who reported experiencing CSA was low (6%; ...
In the past 20 years, the progressive uncovering of child sexual abuse in institutional settings has reverberated across the globe with simultaneous investigations across Europe and the English-speaking world. However, most books on child sexual abuse are narrowly focused and do not situate this most distressing of human behaviours within a social or historical context. Children, Sexuality, and Child Sexual Abuse examines child sexual abuse from a broader perspective in order to understand how and why child sexual abuse is perpetrated, by whom, under what circumstances, and with what societal consequences for victims and perpetrators. This book will be an essential reference for all those working in the field of child sexual abuse.
Beginning with histories of childhood and sex, and their intersections, the book goes on to analyze sexual development, sexuality, and sexualized behaviour in children and adolescents. This is followed by an examination of the extent of child sexual abuse in the English-speaking world, including its prevalence in the Indigenous communities of
Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and in once-trusted societal institutions including the Church, orphanages, and schools. The book focuses on issues of concern to all those who encounter the problem of child sexual abuse and addresses questions such as: How and when do children disclose child sexual abuse? What are the characteristics of memory that affect reporting? How are disclosure claims assessed? And what are the effects of having experienced child sexual abuse? Finally, there is an examination of young people who offend sexually.
... Finally, victim selection analyses indicated that all groups abused females more than males. However, consistent with findings from previous research conducted on clergy sex offenders (Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000;Turner, Rettenberger, Lohmann, Eher, & Briken, 2014), the CSA-W offenders in the present sample were more likely than CSA-I and CSA-E offenders to abuse male victims. In addition, CSA-W offenders tended to choose victims above 12 years of age. ...
... We were also unable to compare groups on previously impactful variables, such as grooming strategies, psychopathic tendencies (Howe, Falkenbach, & Massey, 2014) deviant sexual interest and IQ, as those variables were not measured as part of the archival data set used for this study. Specifically, IQ is one of the strongest discriminators of CSA-W offenders from other CSA populations (Haywood, Kravitz, Grossman, Wasyliw, & Hardy, 1996;Langevin et al., 2000;Sullivan & Beech, 2004). Educational level was higher among CSA-W offenders in the present sample, and as rough proxy for intelligence, this further corroborates previous research. ...
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious problem not only in the community but also in institutional settings such as youth-serving organizations, churches, and schools. Although research has started to examine the problem of abuse in institutional settings, there remains a dearth of information about the nature and context of CSA in different employment settings, including those that do not specifically cater to children. In addition, research on the similarities and differences between perpetrators who work with children and other sex offenders is scarce. As such, the present study compared offenders on variables relating to financial/employment lifestyle stability, risk/dangerousness level, abuse opportunity, and victim selection. Data revealed that child abusers who worked with children tended to be better educated, were less likely to be married, had fewer nonsexual convictions, and were more likely to abuse male post-pubescent children compared with intra- and extra-familial offenders who did not work with children. Implications for future research, prevention of CSA, and clinical practice are discussed.
... Compared to other child sexual abuse perpetrators in general, members of the clergy are older and more highly educated. They tend to use more force in their assaults and are less likely to be detected than other types of offenders (Langevin, Curnoe & Bain, 2000). Within a sample of offenders from the Catholic Church, offenders with high rates of cognitive distortion were highly likely to offend continuously and to use belief and faith in God to aid their distorted belief that their actions were not harmful (Saradjian & Nobus, 2003). ...
... However, they tend to exhibit intimacy deficits and a lack of close personal relationships (Terry & Ackerman, 2008). Another study that yielded statistically significant results from a highly educated, older and predominantly single subgroup of sex offenders tended to reveal fewer antisocial personality disorders (Langevin, Curnoe & Bain, 2000). ...
In January 2013, the Governor-General of Australia appointed a six-member Royal Commission to inquire into how institutions with a responsibility for children have managed and responded to allegations and instances of child sexual abuse. The Royal Commission is tasked with investigating where systems have failed to protect children, and making recommendations on how to improve laws, policies and practices to prevent and better respond to child sexual abuse in institutions
... A review of the literature found only several small-scale studies that have examined factors that may be etiologically related to clergy offending (e.g., D'Alton, Guilfoyle, & Randall, 2013;Haywood, Kravitz, Wasyliw, Goldberg, & Cavanaugh, 1996;Falkenhain, Duckro, Hughes, Rossetti, & Gfeller, 1999;Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000;Plante & Aldridge, 2005;Ukeritis, 2005). For example, Haywood and colleagues (1996) found that the odds of a sexually abused cleric offending (as an adult) against children were 6.05 times higher than the odds of a non-abused cleric becoming a child molester. ...
... For example, Haywood and colleagues (1996) found that the odds of a sexually abused cleric offending (as an adult) against children were 6.05 times higher than the odds of a non-abused cleric becoming a child molester. Whereas some studies have found that, aside from some basic demographic characteristics (education and IQ), clergy offenders tend to be similar to community sex offenders (Langevin et al., 2000;Ukeritis, 2005), other researchers have noted differences in pathways to offense, victim and offense characteristics, and even demographic and psychological characteristics (e.g., Hanson, Pfäfflin, & Lütz, 2004;Lee, 2007). This apparent contradiction underscores our limited understanding of cleric sexual abusers and the extent to which risk factors of sexual abusers as a whole may, or may not, apply to clergy offenders and other types of institutional sex offenders. ...
... Some of our findings regarding the religious authority cases are consistent with findings from the John Jay College Research Team's (2004) national study of priests, but some are not. For one example, our victims were as likely to be girls as boys (see also Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000;Loftus & Camargo, 1993), whereas 81% of the John Jay victims were boys (see also Firestone, Moulden, & Wexler, 2009). Such differences are to be expected, because our religious authority cases were not restricted to Catholic priests. ...
... The clinical sample reported remarkably similar patterns and amounts of evidence. Given the respected position of religious authorities in the community, the fact that these cases often involved sexual abuse, which rarely leaves outward marks, and the fact that others have noted delays in charges being filed against cleric perpetrators of sexual abuse (e.g., Langevin et al., 2000), it might have been expected that agencies would be more skeptical of religious authority cases compared with others. In fact, religious authority cases were perceived as a little less credible than ridding-evil claims (Bottoms et al., 1995, found no significant difference in credence clinicians expressed with reference to the three types of case). ...
Religion can foster, facilitate, and be used to justify child maltreatment. Yet religion-related child abuse and neglect have received little attention from social scientists. We examined 249 cases of religion-related child maltreatment reported to social service agencies, police departments, and prosecutors' offices nationwide. We focused on cases involving maltreatment perpetrated by persons with religious authority, such as ministers and priests; the withholding of medical care for religious reasons; and abusive attempts to rid a child of supposed evil. By providing a descriptive statistical profile of the major features of these cases, we illustrate how these varieties of religion-related child maltreatment occur, who the victims and perpetrators are, and how religion-related child abuse and neglect are reported and processed by the social service and criminal justice systems. We end with a call for greater research attention to these important offenses against children. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... A review of the literature found only several small-scale studies that have examined factors that may be etiologically related to clergy offending (e.g., D'Alton, Guilfoyle, & Randall, 2013;Haywood, Kravitz, Wasyliw, Goldberg, & Cavanaugh, 1996;Falkenhain, Duckro, Hughes, Rossetti, & Gfeller, 1999;Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000;Plante & Aldridge, 2005;Ukeritis, 2005). For example, Haywood and colleagues (1996) found that the odds of a sexually abused cleric offending (as an adult) against children were 6.05 times higher than the odds of a non-abused cleric becoming a child molester. ...
... For example, Haywood and colleagues (1996) found that the odds of a sexually abused cleric offending (as an adult) against children were 6.05 times higher than the odds of a non-abused cleric becoming a child molester. Whereas some studies have found that, aside from some basic demographic characteristics (education and IQ), clergy offenders tend to be similar to community sex offenders (Langevin et al., 2000;Ukeritis, 2005), other researchers have noted differences in pathways to offense, victim and offense characteristics, and even demographic and psychological characteristics (e.g., Hanson, Pfäfflin, & Lütz, 2004;Lee, 2007). This apparent contradiction underscores our limited understanding of cleric sexual abusers and the extent to which risk factors of sexual abusers as a whole may, or may not, apply to clergy offenders and other types of institutional sex offenders. ...
Individuals working in churches and other youth-serving institutions have a unique level of access to children, yet the problem of sexual abuse in institutional settings has received scant research attention. To address this gap, we analyzed data from a large sample of clergy (N = 1,121) and applied a social-ecological model of offending to identify risk factors for sexual abuse perpetration. Using a case-control study design that compared clergy sexual abusers with three control groups of clergy, this study focuses specifically on individual-, relationship-, and community-level factors associated with a higher risk of abuse in professional populations. Findings revealed that clergy sexual abusers tended to have more truncated pre-seminary dating histories, and that their dating and sexual partners were more likely to have been male than female. Self-reported sexual abuse history was associated with a greater likelihood of sexual abuse perpetration among clergy. Clergy abusers tended to be more involved with youth and adolescents in their ministries; however, they were observed to relate less well to youth and adolescents than their clergy counterparts. Given widespread changes in our cultural understanding of abuse as well as more specific changes in the organizational approach to seminary education, these differences underscore the role that youth-serving institutions and society can have in the primary prevention of child sexual abuse. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... For Langevin et al. (2000), some priests enter the clergy to seek refuge from paedophilic sexual urges; when disinhibiting factors such as age or alcohol were associated with these fantasies, sexual assault could occur. In the absence of standardised assessment tools, it was difficult to assess the number and type of paraphilias/paraphilic disorders present in our population. ...
Sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is a distressing concern. As part of the investigation conducted by the French Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church, we analysed available files of convicted sexual abusers between 1950 and 2020. We analysed the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of French clergymen sex offenders. Thirty-five clergymen were included. Sexual assaults were documented for 176 individuals in total, including 153 minors (79.7% male) and 23 adults (52.2% female). No sex offender assaulted both juvenile and adult victims. Homosexuality was declared in 50% of the perpetrators. A past history of child sexual abuse was observed in 30% (N = 9) of juvenile offenders. The mean number of victims per offender was around 5, with the highest mean number in male or both sex juvenile offenders. More than 90% of the victims were known to the perpetrator. Both hands-on and hands-off sexual offences occurred in over 80% of male juvenile offenders compared to less than 6% of female juvenile offenders and less than 17% of adult offenders. Sex offenders within the Catholic Church present some specificities in comparison to non religious sex offenders, such as a higher number of male juvenile victims somewhat older and more often known. Personal, interpersonal and systemic factors, some of which being specific, interact to foster sexual offence. Prevention of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is crucial.
... It is possible the perception of White men as more likely to perpetrate CSA comes from the public's understanding that most sex crimes against children are committed by individuals with mental illnesses (e.g., Haywood et al., 1996;Langevin et al., 2000), which are frequently some form of sexual dysfunction. Laypeople more commonly attribute general criminal violence to mental illness for White perpetrators compared to perpetrators of other races/ethnicities, especially Black perpetrators (Lundequam, 2022;Thomas et al., 1998;Thompson, 2010). ...
Child sex abuse (CSA) is a specific category of crime for which the presumption of guilt may be particularly high, especially for defendant categories stereotypically associated with the crime. The current study utilized survey methodology to examine the magnitude of the presumption of guilt for CSA, as well as stereotypes associating perpetrator race and relationship to the victim with likelihood of CSA. Participants (N = 220) indicated the percentage of CSA allegations they believed to be true, and rank-ordered racial and relationship categories they believed most likely to commit CSA. Female (77%) and male (71%) participants believed most CSA allegations were true. White men and stepfathers were ranked as the most likely perpetrators compared to Hispanic men, Black men, other male relatives, neighbors, and others. These data suggest that alleged perpetrators of CSA are particularly likely to be perceived negatively, especially if they possess stereotypical racial and relational characteristics.
... 16, Book 1, 130). When the Melbourne Response was established, ex gratia payments were capped at $50,000, but steadily increased -$55,000 in 2000and $75,000 in 2008(RCIRCSA 2017. In total the Catholic Church paid $268 million in response to claims received between 1 January 1980 -February 2015, i.e. prior to the Australian Inquiry. ...
This book is an objective, evidence-based analysis of the empirical findings, methodologies and conclusions of the three main national inquiries (Irish, US, Australian) into child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and of the responses of the Catholic Church to child sexual abuse. As such, it stands in contrast to the overall media reporting of the problem. Based on the evidence of these inquiries it draws two major conclusions. Firstly, child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the countries surveyed, while widespread during the 60s and 70s, is largely an historical problem. Secondly, safe-guarding mechanisms introduced into the Catholic Church since the 90s have been effective in curbing child sexual abuse.
... Pierwsze reprezentują zwolennicy poglądu, że przyczyną tych wykroczeń jest homoseksualizm księży oskarżonych o wykorzystywanie nieletnich [48]. Drugie reprezentują ci, którzy uważają, że te dwa zjawiska w ogóle nie są ze sobą powiązane [49]. Bardziej prawdopodobna w świetle badań i doświadczeń klinicznych wydaje się hipoteza, zgodnie z którą w grupie duchownych katolickich mamy do czynienia z podwójną nadreprezentacją: (1) osób o orientacji homoseksualnej oraz (2) osób o orientacji homoseksualnej, która nie jest jednak zintegrowana z ich tożsamością seksualną, a więc staje się czynnikiem ryzyka w obliczu dostępu do nastolatków oraz nieumiejętności radzenia sobie ze stresem i wyzwaniami rozwojowymi. ...
The issue of sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church is widely discussed in the media. Nevertheless, the term ‛priest-pedophile' has been used inaccurately to identify perpetrators. There is very little research directly dealing with this group of offenders among Catholic clergy, and we do not yet have any theory that would adequately explain this type of behavior. Attempts to psychologically characterize priests who sexually abuse minors have brought limited success so far. The purpose of this article is to present the most important issues and clinical dilemmas related to the diagnosis and treatment of paraphilias among Catholic clergy, signifying similarities and differences between clergy and other perpetrators of sexual offenses against minors, present typology of sexual offenders among priests, and discuss the relationship of victims' gender with sexual orientation and celibacy of perpetrators. The author demonstrates that using the term ‛priest-pedophile' is not only misleading, but is sometimes used to deliberately mislead. On the one hand, to create a moral panic effect, suggesting that the Catholic clergy is at increased risk of this type of crime. On the other hand, indicating gender and age of the most of their victims, suggesting that people responsible for this kind of abuse among Catholic clergy are homosexual priests and thus select a scapegoat responsible for the problems of the Church institution. Słowa klucze: parafilie, duchowni katoliccy, wykorzystanie seksualne małoletnich
... Both groups were compared to a general sample of 2125 sex offenders. 12 The three groups were compared on sexual history and preference, substance abuse, mental illness and personality, history of crime and violence, neuropsychological impairment, and endocrine abnormalities. 13 "The majority of cleric-sex offenders suffered from a sexual disorder (70.8%), predominantly homosexual pedophilia, as measured by phallometric testing, but did not differ from the control groups in this respect." ...
Why do some priests engage in the sexual abuse of children? What are the warning signs for parents? Is there a typical profile of priests who are more likely to engage in sexual abuse of children? What is to be done about clergy abuse? These questions have been addressed in this paper. Previous studies focused more on psychopathology, deviant opportunities, age, and the role of socialization in clergy abuse. This paper goes further by arguing that the initial psychological/psychiatric evaluation of applicants into seminaries is inadequate and that the educational curriculum of seminaries contributes to clergy abuse. Majority of Catholic priests involved in child sexual abuse suffered from psychiatric and psychological problems, were involved in substance abuse, suffered from endocrine disorders and were victims of childhood sexual and physical abuse themselves. This paper maintains that it is possible to predict a clergy who is more likely to engage in sexual misconduct. After reviewing data on some of the convicted priests, and some academic catalogs of Catholic seminaries, several recommendations are made.
... Sexualdelikte). Zu bedenken ist, dass sich katholische Geistliche in einer Vielzahl biografischer und entwicklungsrelevanter Merkmale (z.B. geringe Vorstrafenbelastung, hoher Bildungsstatus, stabile berufliche Situation) von der "allgemeinen" Population der Sexualstraftäter unterscheiden (Langevin, Curnoe & Bain, 2000), sodass sie generell mehr protektive Faktoren aufweisen, welche wiederum zu einer eher geringen einschlägigen sowie generellen Rückfälligkeit beitragen. ...
... The John Jay Report (2004) identified privacy in the context of power as one of the primary factors to have facilitated the abuse of children in Church settings. Lengavin, Curnoe, and Bain (2000) had earlier suggested that prevention techniques used in the general population could be applied to the Catholic Church as well. Bohm et al. (2014) and Terry (2008) cited evidence from inquiries into cCSA in Ireland, United States, Netherlands, and Germany to emphasize the importance of monitoring contact between clerics and children. ...
In the wake of reported scandals of child sexual abuse by Roman catholic priests in mainstream media in the 1980s/1990s and conviction of Catholic priests on similar charges in England and Wales, Lord Nolan was invited by the Archbishop of Westminster in 2000 to undertake a review of child safeguarding policies of the Catholic Church of England and Wales since 1994, known as the Nolan Report. The Nolan Report led to the establishment of the first Catholic Office for protection of children (COPCA) which remained operative from 2001–2007 before being later modified in light of the Cumberlege Review (2007) as the National Child Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) and the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory service (CSAS) since 2008 which continue to operate till today. This article conducts a hermeneutical analysis of the Nolan Report, the Cumberlege Report, the annual reports of COPCA and the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission from 2007 till 2017. Wider academic literature on the subject is included in order to critically examine the performance of these child safeguarding structures developed to prevent and control clerical sexual abuse and to evaluate the utility of the child protection measures in place within the Catholic Church of England and Wales, since 2001.
... Whilst there is a growing body of research concerning the effect (criminogenic or positive) of religion on offending, and a substantive body of research on the impact of religion on people generally, there is currently a paucity of research focusing on sexual offending and religion. The extant literature predominantly comprises studies of prevalence, or are focused on Catholic priests and abuse (Francis & Turner, 1995;Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000;Nolan, 2001;Plante, 2003), or on professionals (including priests) who sexually abuse others (Sullivan & Beech, 2002). A promising stream of research has been published by Kewley and colleagues (Kewley, Beech, & Harkins, 2015;Kewley, Larkin, Harkins, & Beech, 2017) which has contributed to our understanding of the experiences of religious individuals who have committed sexual offences as they seek to re-engage with faith communities following release from prison. ...
Religious beliefs have been variously promulgated as both protective and risk factors for sexual reoffending. Moreover, therapists working with religious prisoners struggle with unravelling cognitive distortions embedded within religious views, with concerns about accusations of prejudice salient in their mindset. This paper presents a novel contribution to research by combining the qualitative analysis of the accounts offered by individuals (n = 12) convicted of sexual offences who describe themselves as Christians. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. This paper focuses on two superordinate themes: (i) The God Effect and (ii) The Shadow Side of Religion. Implications of this research are discussed with reference to the assessment of dynamic risk and protective factors with religious individuals who have been convicted of a sexual offence.
... Whilst there is a growing body of research concerning the effect (criminogenic or positive) and abuse (Langevin, Curnoe & Bain, 2000;Francis, & Turner, 1995;Nolan, 2001;Plante, 2003), or on professionals (including priests) who sexually abuse others (Sullivan & Beech, 2002). A promising stream of research has been published by Kewley and colleagues (Kewley, Larkin, Harkins & Beech, 2017;Kewley, Beech & Harkins, 2015) which has contributed to our understanding of the experiences of religious individuals who have committed sexual offences as they seek to re-engage with faith communities following release from prison. ...
... Only a few studies report other characteristics of offenders [23,30,34,37,39]. In the following, average values of the five studies are reported. ...
Sexual violence against children remains a global public health problem. The health sector has an opportunity and responsibility to be part of the multisector collaboration to prevent and respond to sexual abuse of minors. The following article presents a critical analysis of hitherto published empirical studies that examine the extent and variety of sexual abuse of minors within the Catholic Church and other institutions. The analysis consists of 40 studies concerning the Catholic Church and 13 studies concerning other institutions not belonging to the Catholic Church. We report the characteristics of the offenders and the offenses. Furthermore, the devastating consequences for children abused by members of powerful institutions are discussed. Knowledge on the role of institutions in sexual abuse of minors and psychological distress following these experiences is necessary to point the way to improvements in prevention and intervention strategies. This literature review is part of a larger research project on the sexual abuse of minors in the context of the Catholic Church in Germany (MHG Study) that is conducted by an interdisciplinary team of psychologists, psychiatrists, criminologists, and sociologists and is funded by the German Bishops’ Conference.
... Others have argued that sexually abusive clergy are not much different from other child sexual abusers on trends previously associated with recidivism risk. Comparing cleric and non-cleric individuals accused of sex offenses, Langevin, Curnoe, and Bain (2000) found that, when controlling for a number of demographic variables such as educational level, age, and marital status, offending patterns among clerics were similar to those of non-clerics in multiple ways (e.g., rates of substance abuse, phallometric testing results, and sexual victimization history). ...
The current study compares offending trends of sexually abusive clergy (n = 1,428) to general sex offenders (n = 2,842) on risk measure items coded across the course of offending. Results suggest significant differences on most risk-relevant variables. Clergy were particularly more likely to have male victims, V = .62, 95% CI [.58, .65], and less likely to be married, V = .59, 95% CI [.56, .63], or use force, V = .76, 95% CI [.73, .79]. The magnitude of differences remained when matched on offense factors (e.g., male child acquaintance victims). Findings suggest sexually abusive clergy are a unique subgroup differing from general sex offenders on factors associated with recidivism.
... Similarly, Loftus and Camargo (1993) reviewed documentation on 111 clergy who had abused children and found that 36 (32%) were diagnosed with alcoholism. Langevin, Curnoe, and Bain (2000) found that 29% (n = 7) of their small sample (n = 24) of clergy had substance abuse problems; Hanson, Pfafflin, and Lutz's (2004) study yielded similar results regarding alcohol. However, prior literature suggests that no one behavioural factor has been found to explain clergy sexual abuse. ...
Allegations of sexual abuse against minors by priests in Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the US are not new. Yet, it has only been within the past three years that dioceses (including Milwaukee, Chicago, Los Angeles, Joliet, and Winona) have unsealed files of priests accused of sexual abuse. Using available files from one Benedictine Abbey in Minnesota, we conducted a retrospective content analysis with a focus towards the way those within the diocese justified, neutralised, or shifted blame for these crimes. In addition to the presence of some of these themes, we also uncovered evidence of concealment by upper-level administrators. This manuscript offers a brief summation of the sexual abuse scandal within the Church, a case study of this abbey’s changing response to allegations over the past three decades, and a discussion of our findings, ideas for policy changes, and directions for future research.
... Eine bisexuelle Orientierung geben 6,7 % an. In den Studien zu den nichtkatholischen Institutionen liegen keine Angaben zur sexuellen Ausrichtung der Täter vor.Nur wenige Studien zur katholischen Kirche beinhalten Angaben zu sozialen Merkmalen der Täter(Haywood et al. 1996a, b;Langevin et al. 2000;John Jay College 2004;Leygraf et al. 2012;Kocherscheidt 2013). Das am häufigsten genannte soziale Merkmal ist die Viktimisierung durch ein Sexualdelikt (5,3 %), gefolgt von Stresssituationen zum Tatzeitpunkt (2,2 %), sexuell deviantem Verhalten (2,1 %), dem Fehlen einer konstanten Beziehung bis zum 16. ...
Zusammenfassung
Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit einem Forschungsprojekt über sexuellen Missbrauch an Minderjährigen im Kontext der katholischen Kirche. Neben der Skizzierung der einzelnen Teilprojekte werden erste Ergebnisse des Teilprojekts der methodenkritischen Metaanalyse dargestellt. Die Metaanalyse gibt einen Überblick über die bisherigen empirischen Befunde zu Art und Umfang sexueller Missbrauchstaten an Minderjährigen in der katholischen Kirche und in anderen Institutionen. Hierzu wurden bisher 40 Studien über die katholische Kirche und 13 Studien über Einrichtungen, die nicht in katholischer Trägerschaft stehen, untersucht. Es werden Ergebnisse zu den Methoden der Studien sowie zu den Merkmalen von Tätern und Opfern und zu den Delikten dargestellt.
... It was found that CSA-W usually differed from child sexual abusers not working with children (CSA) in so far as they were older, better educated, and less likely to be in an adult relationship, while they did not differ concerning the frequency of having experienced sexual abuse themselves (Colton, Roberts, & Vanstone, 2010;Sullivan & Beech, 2004;Turneretal.,2014a). Turner et al. (2014a) reported that CSA-W were more likely to show indicators for pedophilic sexual interests, while at the same time they showed fewer indicators for antisocial behaviors and reported fewer previous problems with alcohol compared to CSA not working with children (Turner et al., 2014a; see also Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000;Parkinson, Oates, & Jayakody, 2012;Spröber et al., 2014;Sullivan, Beech, Craig, & Gannon, 2011 for similar findings). Due to this constellation of risk factors, it was concluded that CSA-W seem to exhibit more specific risk factors for sexual reoffending while they are not so much in danger for general or violent reoffending (Turner et al., 2014b). ...
Identifying risk factors for sexual abuse in men who work with children and who have already abused a child could lead to more appropriate screening and prevention strategies and is thus of major scientific and societal relevance. A total of 8,649 German men from the community were assessed in an extensive anonymous and confidential online survey. Of those, 37 (0.4%) could be classified as child sexual abusers working with children, 90 (1.0%) as child sexual abusers not working with children, and 816 (9.4%) as men who work with children and who have not abused a child. We assessed the impact of working with children as an individual risk factor for self-reported child sexual abuse and compared personal factors, pedophilic sexual fantasies, deviant sexual behaviors, antisocial behaviors, and hypersexuality among the three groups. Most interestingly, working with children was significantly associated with a self-reported sexual offense against children, however, it explained only three percent of its variance. Child sexual abusers working with children admitted more antisocial and more sexually deviant behaviors than child sexual abusers not working with children and than men working with children who have not abused a child. Our findings support some of the suggestions made by other researchers concerning factors that could be considered in applicants for child- or youth-serving institutions. However, it has to be pointed out that the scientific basis still seems premature.
... One study found that sex o enders maintaining signi cant involvement with religious institutions "had more sexual o ense convictions, more victims, and younger victims" (Eshuys & Smallbone, 2006;Firestone & Moulden, 2009). According to another study, clergy sex o enders share the same characteristics of non-clergy sex o enders with the exception that clergy are more likely to use force (Langevin et al., 2000). ...
Counselors and theologians failing to understand the dynamics of child sexual abuse cases often apply the concept of law and gospel incorrectly. When this happens, perpetrators are emboldened to offend again and many victims leave the church. To assist spiritual counselors in avoiding this pitfall, I provide an overview of the dynamics present in many cases of sexual abuse and the impact this has on children physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I also discuss the characteristics of many sex offenders and the efforts offenders make to manipulate both the victim and the church. In determining the proper application of law and gospel to victims and offenders, I discuss the law and gospel treatise of C.F.W. Walther. In doing so, I include examples of Walther's application of law and gospel in cases of domestic violence and sexual exploitation. Finally, I include practical suggestions for psychotherapists and theologians in applying law and gospel to victims and to perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
... En effet, on constate, d'un côté, que les abuseurs sexuels d'enfants présentent, en tant que groupe, des déficits sociaux, intellectuels et cognitifs comparativement à d'autres types d'abuseurs (par exemple, Joyal et al., 2007). D'un autre côté, bon nombre d'études révèlent plutôt des capacités intellectuelles et cognitives supérieures à celles de la population générale chez certains pédophiles (Lothstein, 1999 ; Langevin, Curnoe et Bain, 2000 ; Plante et Aldridge, 2005). En outre, des proportions relativement élevées de pédophiles ont de bonnes aptitudes sociales (de 20 à 25 % des abuseurs sexuels d'enfants de type préférentiel, selon Knight, 1989). ...
... On the one hand, when compared to the general sexual offending population, the demographic profile of religious professionals who sexually abuse is different. They tend to have had better educational experiences, be slightly older, single, use some levels of force in their offending, and lack any criminal history (Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000). Their victim profile is also quite distinct; they tend to target young boys and use their professional status in the church to both access children and gain their trust (Firestone, Moulden, & Wexler, 2009). ...
The aim of this paper is to examine the role of faith-based communities and activities in helping those convicted of sexual offending to desist from crime and reintegrate back into their communities. It was found that much of the current research is limited to non-offending juvenile populations. Where research has been carried out on adult offenders, these tend to be custodial cases and exclude those convicted of sexual offending. The role of religious and spiritual groups in helping people convicted of sexual offending to desist from crime, while reintegrating into the community is, therefore, unknown. A number of parallels between the factors needed to promote desistance from sexual offending and the conditions encountered when engaged with a faith community are outlined. We would note that a religious and spiritual environment can: promote motivation to change, provide access to pro-social peers, offer moral guidance, provide a support network, and help bring meaning into people's lives. The potential for people to use faith-based communities or organizations to facilitate offending are also considered. Finally, implications for probation work and future research are also discussed.
... Concerning the assessment of antisocial behaviors previous research has linked substance abuse, a history of nonsexual crimes, an antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy to the existence of antisocial tendencies in an individual (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005). In this context, Langevin et al. (2000) found a lower rate of previous convictions as well as a lower rate of previous aggressive behaviors in clergy CSA compared to a general sex offender sample (Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000; see also Sullivan & Beech, 2004). Supporting these findings we could identify (in the above-mentioned study) a lower rate of previous convictions for a general offense as well as a lower rate of previous convictions for a sexual offense in CSA-W at least compared to CSA-E (Turner et al., 2014a). ...
The present article aims at providing an overview of the current state of research about child sexual abuse occurring in youth-serving institutions and about the individuals who have sexually offended against children with whom they work. Depending on the specific institution and the assessment method used, between 0.1% and 10% of all children and adolescents who were placed in a youth-serving institution have been sexually victimized. In most cases offenders are male and highly educated. Compared to child sexual abusers (CSA) not working with children pedophilic sexual interests seem to be more prevalent in child sexual abusers working with children (CSA-W), while indicators for antisocial behaviors can be found less often. In line with this constellation of risk factors CSA-W primarily reoffend sexually. Thus, risk assessment instruments that specifically measure the risk for sexual recidivism perform best in CSA-W. Concerning offence-supportive strategies previous research found that CSA-W use manipulative behaviors rather than violence prior to the abuse and the abuse most commonly occurs when the CSA-W is alone with the victim. Based on these findings it can be concluded that treatment with CSA-W should focus primarily on the management of pedophilic sexual interests as well as on the relationship problems. However, future research still has to evaluate the impact of psychotherapeutic treatment on these offenders and has to identify additional risk factors that should be considered in treatment approaches.
In this chapter, current literature on clergy sexual abuse is reviewed, with a focus on how abuse trends can inform the management of sexually abusive clergy. General trends of clergy sexual abuse—victim choice, abuse patterns, and characteristics of abusive clergy as well as potential explanations for clergy sexual abuse from these patterns are provided. Findings on clinical assessment with sexually abusive clergy are reviewed, including the application of various psychological and sexual risk assessment instruments. Prominent treatment modalities to address how sexual offending may be clinically applied to address sexual abuse by clergy is also provided. In all, sexually abusive clergy appear to be a heterogenous group with many different patterns of victimization and abuse, but evidence suggests clergy sexual abuse is more often motivated by psychosexual deficits, emotional deficits, and opportunity than by paraphilic desires. Existing assessment measures are likely to be less effective and valid with clergy. Encouragingly, though, the Risk-Need-Responsivity Model, Good Lives Model, and Situational Crime Prevention strategies of sexual abuse prevention appear applicable as intervention approaches for clergy sexual abuse.
Monografie shrnuje výsledky vstupní části výzkumu Institutu pro kriminologii, který se zabýval problematikou sexuálně zaměřeného násilí. Předmětem výzkumu byly sexuálně motivované trestné činy s prvkem násilí, registrované na území ČR ve stanoveném období, identifikovaní pachatelé těchto trestných činů, a jednotlivá opatření na ochranu společnosti před tímto druhem kriminality. Hlavním cílem výzkumu bylo získat nové kriminologické poznatky o kriminálním sexuálně motivovaném násilí a jeho pachatelích v ČR a zhodnotit prostředky využívané k postihu pachatelů tohoto druhu kriminality. K dalším cílům výzkumu patřilo: zhodnocení právní úpravy postihu sexuálně motivovaného násilí v ČR, identifikace používaných nástrojů k posuzování nebezpečnosti pachatele sexuálního násilí, a zmapování obrazu násilných sexuálních deliktů a jejich pachatelů v českých médiích.
This chapter introduces an empirical study exploring any predictive relationship between IQ and dynamic risk factors for sexual offending, as measured by the Structured Assessment for Risk and Need (SARN). The study included 1462 adult males, convicted for a sexual offence and serving a custodial sentence. The full-scale IQ range was 48 (moderate intellectual disability) to 144 (very superior). The analysis found that there was a predictive relationship between increasing IQ and risk factors related to paedophilia (e.g. sexual interest in children) and decreasing IQ and risk factors not related to paedophilia. These results were unanticipated given the majority literature has reported a relationship between lower IQ and paedophilia (Cantor, Blanchard, Robichaud, & Christensen, Psychological Bulletin, 131, 555–568, 2005). Possible explanations and implications are discussed.
Recent revelations of the extent of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Germany and the United States have once more triggered the debate about sexual abuse. Those inquiries identify cases that are known to authorities or have been recorded in these institutions. However, to assess the full magnitude of the problem, data beyond recorded or known cases are needed, as it can be assumed that a vast number of cases are not reported and are hence not included in such file reviews. Therefore, representative surveys are needed. The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of sexual abuse by priests and in different contexts in the German population based on a representative sample. A total of 2,510 participants (54.3% female, M = 48 years) were retrospectively asked about different experiences, offenders, contexts, and so on, of child sexual abuse using questions that were used to assess child sexual abuse in prior surveys and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). In sum, 0.21% (n = 7) of the participants reported child sexual abuse by a priest or pastor. 0.16% reported child sexual abuse in an institution of the Roman Catholic Church. Results also indicated that victims of sexual abuse by priests and pastors reported rather severe types of sexual abuse based on the CTQ in comparison with other contexts, such as schools. Extrapolating the data for the population, it can be assumed that the estimated number of victims is much higher than those identified by research based on recorded cases.
This article reports on a retrospective study of cases of child sexual abuse complaints made against clergy, other employed pastoral staff, and volunteers in the Anglican Church of Australia between 1990 and 2008. There were 191 allegations of sexual abuse made by 180 complainants against 135 individuals. Twenty-seven of those 135 had more than one complaint made against them. Three-quarters of all complainants were male. The most likely explanation for the large proportion of abused males is that the church gives many more opportunities for abusers to be alone with boys than with girls. Prevention strategies need to focus on reducing the opportunities for abuse to occur as well strategies concerning the recruitment of professional staff and volunteers.
There is virtually no literature on child sexual abuse committed by “powerful perpetrators”, who, use position, reputation, wealth and/or power, to become influential members of their organisation. Seventeen cases relating to youth serving organisations were identified using a comprehensive search of databases covering case reviews from England, Australia and the US. A Quantitative Content Analysis was used to analyse the sample with a focus on identifying offenders’ “modus operandi”. Findings revealed a number of critical differences between powerful perpetrators and other child sexual offenders described in the literature. Findings are discussed in relation to their implications for creating safer youth serving organisations. In particular, focusing on educating YSOs to recognise and address risks posed by powerful perpetrators; expanding organisational safety policies and practices and taking steps to develop a strong, positive organisational safety culture are commended as key approaches.
Research has shown how religion is associated with numerous positive effects including enhanced mood, increased feelings of hope, increased altruistic behaviour, improved ability to cope and also reducing people’s involvement in delinquent and criminal behaviour. However, this has also been contested with some arguing that religion can have criminogenic effects. Whilst there is a growing body of research concerning the effect (criminogenic or positive) of religion on offending, there is currently a paucity of research focusing on sexual offending and religion. The aim of this study was to explore and understand the effects that religious beliefs have on individuals with sexual convictions’ sense of self, identity, their thoughts about the future and on their daily lives in prison. The results focus on a centrally important superordinate theme related to forgiveness and redemption. The analysis unpacks participants’ narratives of forgiveness and the impact such narratives have on participants. A key finding from the data in this study was that religious beliefs and being forgiven by a higher power appeared to facilitate redemptive selves and the enacting of these selves. Implications for practice and limitations are discussed.
Le pape François dénonce régulièrement le cléricalisme comme un des problèmes importants dans l’Église. Le cléricalisme s’inscrit dans une spécificité sociale et se maintient par différentes résistances systémiques. L’Église catholique est un système complexe, hiérarchisé, aux influences multiples. L’identité et le rôle des clercs, le rapport entre autorité et pouvoir sont à considérer. Le cléricalisme est aussi entretenu par des dynamiques corporatistes : culture du secret, absence de reddition de compte et de transparence ; difficulté de nombreux évêques catholiques à envisager la nécessité d’une réforme en profondeur. Des solutions existent, elles passent entre autres par un meilleur partage des responsabilités et plus de collaboration entre clercs et laïcs.
A report commissioned and funded by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
There has been limited conclusive research examining the personality characteristics of clergy who perpetrate abuse. To address this dearth of research, the current study aimed to develop a personality profile that distinguishes clergy members who sexually abuse children from other clergy. Personality and psychopathology were assessed using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III). Data were analyzed from a sample of clergy members, who comprised four comparison groups: clergy members referred to treatment for (a) child sexual abuse, (b) sexual misconduct with adults, (c) general clinical problems, or (d) routine employment evaluations with no previously identified clinical or sexual issues. While differences were found between groups, only the Aggressive/Sadistic scale of the MCMI-III consistently distinguished clerics who sexually abused children from all other clergy members. Findings are discussed in regard to the utility of the MMPI-2 and MCMI-III as a screening tool for clerical applicants for the Catholic Church.
W artykule przedstawiono aktualny stan wiedzy na temat wykorzystywania sek-sualnego nieletnich przez księży katolickich, ze szczególnym zwróceniem uwagi na badania empiryczne dotyczące profilu sprawcy i wpływu czynników kontekstualnych przemocy. Podkreślono, że jest to grupa atypowych przestępców seksualnych, do któ-rej nie pasuje popularne w mediach wyrażenie ksiądz-pedofil, a także wskazano na konieczność uwzględnienia czynników kontekstualnych przy ocenie tego zjawiska w instytucji o globalnym charakterze, ale działającej w zróżnicowanych warunkach geograficznych i kulturowych. Słowa kluczowe: ksiądz, Kościół katolicki, pedofilia, ofiary, celibat, orientacja seksualna Wprowadzenie P roblematyka wykorzystywania seksualnego nieletnich przez duchownych katolickich1 jest szeroko dyskutowana w mediach, co sprawia wrażenie ja-koby była dobrze poznana. W rezultacie w świadomości społecznej zaczęło 1 W artykule skupiam się wyłącznie na księżach diecezjalnych (świeckich) i zakonnych. Do stanu duchownego zalicza się w Kościele katolickim także diakonów. Wśród przestęp-ców seksualnych wobec nieletnich w Kościele katolickim są także bracia zakonni i siostry zakonne. Zarówno księży (diecezjalnych i zakonnych), jak i zakonników (ojców/braci) oraz zakonnice (siostry) odróżnia się jeszcze od osób świeckich zatrudnionych w instytucjach kościelnych, które również bywają przestępcami seksualnymi w stosunku do nieletnich. Najliczniejszą grupę sprawców stanowią jednak księża i im poświęca się w piśmiennictwie
This article uses feminist theory to investigate how the socialization processes used to maintain the clergy community in the Roman Catholic Church contributes to a vulnerability in some clergy for sexually abusing children. This vulnerability is identified first in an examination of the literature on the impact of socialization processes on clergy offenders between the 1960s and 1980s. A comparison is then made with the implications of the apostolic exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, which provides a theological basis to clergy formation. The article argues that the document works to ensure a continuity of socialization processes that not only have been shown to create a vulnerability for committing child sexual abuse but compound existing vulnerabilities. The article concludes that constraints produced by the preservation of a hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy retain a threat of violence against children and require recommended reforms.
Aktuelle Befunde legen den Schluss spezieller persönlicher und tatbezogener Merkmale, bezüglich derer sich Sexualstraftäter aus der Gruppe der Geistlichen von anderen Sexualstraftätern unterscheiden, nahe. Gerade der Anteil katholischer Diözesanpriester – auch in Bezug auf die Vertreter anderer Ordensgemeinschaften, ist dabei herausragend. Zentral ist daher die Frage, inwieweit spezielle Strukturen einer mit großem Einfluss ausgestatteten Organisation, wie insbesondere die der katholischen Kirche, mit ihrer Forderung nach zölibatärem Ordensleben, zu einem erhöhten Risiko führt, Sexualstraftäter in ihren Reihen anzutreffen. Übt im Ergebnis vielleicht gerade eine rigide Sexualpolitik eine besondere Anziehungskraft auf pädosexuell veranlagte Menschen aus oder weckt sie gar pädosexuelle Neigungen? Nach einem Überblick zur aktuellen Befundlage hinsichtlich allgemeiner Charakteristika von Sexualstraftätern, deren Opfer Kinder sind, folgt die Auseinandersetzung mit einer offensichtlich speziellen Subgruppe der Sexualstraftäter, die dem Klerus angehören. Die Ausführungen nehmen speziell zu der Frage Stellung, ob und inwieweit die katholische Kirche Bedingungen als Biotop und Schutzwall für Täter bietet, die Kinder sexuell missbrauchen.
Considered herein are the arguments for requiring clergy and other such religious leaders to report concerns about the sexual abuse of children and the different options for so doing. These include adding ministers of religion to the list of professionals who are required to report to child welfare authorities, mandating reports only where the alleged perpetrator is another member of the religious organisation and reporting to the police where the person believes a criminal offence has been committed involving the sexual abuse of a child, whether or not the complainant is still a child. It sets the debate within the context of the seemingly high level of child sexual abuse within certain faith communities and the cultural impediments to reporting of abuse which are specific to certain religious groups.
IntroductionDemographic Profile and Offending Patterns of Professional PerpetratorsPsychometric Comparisons with Intra- and Extra-Familial Child AbusersRationale for a Qualitative MethodologyMotivation to Sexually OffendVictim Selection, Grooming and AbuseManipulation StylesConclusions
Multi Disciplinary IssuesFuture DirectionsReferences
People Who Sexually Abuse Children in Organisational Positions of Trust – a definitionHow Prevalent are Sexual Offences Committed Against Children in Professional or Workplace Settings?Characteristics and Behaviour of People Who Sexually Abuse Children in Organisational Positions of TrustFindings From a Study of Residents in a Specialist Treatment Setting Who had Sexually Abused Children Whilst in Organisational Positions of TrustGroomingUse of the InternetMotivations to Sexually AbuseThought Processes and Cognitive DistortionsFemale Sexual AbusersConclusions
References
This book engages the first-person narratives of a group of Roman Catholic clergy in depth and detail, offering a thorough analysis of the perpetrators' accounts of how and why they sexually abused minors. It develops a new way of conceptualizing the problem of sexual abuse by clergy, one that is not rooted exclusively in individual pathology but that fully accounts for systemic and context-specific factors, such as the very institution of priesthood itself, the Catholic take on sexuality, clerical culture, power relations, governance structures of the Catholic Church in Ireland, the process of formation for priesthood and religious life, and the complex manner in which these factors coalesce to create serious institutional risks for boundary violations, including child sexual abuse. This book weaves together the stories of abusive priests, church history, and recommendations for institutional change that confront the Church's inadequate response to scandal after scandal.
For decades, researchers inside and outside the Catholic Church have addressed the issue of sexual abuse of children. For some, perpetrators suffer from a pathology; for others, they have committed a sin. The two perceptions call for different strategies in dealing with the abuse issue. In case of pathology, abusers must be subjected to a clinical or medical treatment in order to restore their mental health and make them capable again of making conscious and free decisions. In case of sin, granting absolution after confession would be sufficient. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, we analyze and discuss both positions. This leads us to a twofold conclusion: 1) Sexual abuse is basically a violent act which imposes suffering to others and to God; therefore it is a sin if free will is the matter. 2) When abusers suffer from mental and emotional conditions, including paraphilic disorders such as pedophilia, their ability to emit a conscious and free choice is affected but not excluded. We therefore suggest that dealing with sexual abuse needs an integrative approach which includes both sin and pathology.
Many have studied Roman Catholic clergy who have sexually abused children, but the range of investigations remains disconnected. This article brings together various disciplinary perspectives to form a comprehensive view. A review of the literature is first undertaken to comprehend how clergy offenders have been conceptualized in psychosocial, sociocultural, and moral-religious studies. These perspectives are then used as a foundation for examining how these clergy can be rehabilitated. Three rehabilitative modalities-psychological treatment, rehabilitation through restorative justice, and ritual healing-are explored. The article concludes with a discussion of the insights gained from the literature review and how the modalities can be advanced in an interdependent and considered approach.
Research prior to the abuse crisis in the catholic churchMajor examinations of the problem to datePurported causes of abuseCharacteristics of clergy abusersFuture research directionsConclusions
References
Currently, minimal research has been conducted worldwide on the phenomenon of child
sexual abuse in youth-oriented institutions, despite increasing number of accounts that
are coming to the attention of authorities and the wider public on these sex crimes.
Addressing the lack of research on these offenders and how they offend is critical in
developing evidence-based knowledge that can better guide effective policies. One key
reason for this lack of evidence is that access to these offenders is difficult to acquire in the
first place. Indeed, it is likely that relatively few of these offenders have ever been identified
(ie only those who have been caught) and those offenders who are caught are subject to
intense media scrutiny, making these individuals apprehensive about participating in any
research. In addition, current evidence suggests that a relatively small proportion of these
offenders are responsible for offending against a disproportionately high number of victims
(eg Erooga, Allnock & Telford 2012; Sullivan & Beech 2004). This again points towards the
critical need for empirical research to inform prevention and safety initiatives adapted to
youth-oriented institutional environments.
Es stellt sich die Frage, ob und inwieweit Fakten das kursierende Bild vom „pädophilen katholischen Priester“, der überproportional unter Sexualstraftätern, die Kinder missbrauchen, zu finden sei, tatsächlich stützen. Schließlich existiert bis heute keine offizielle Statistik über geistliche Sexualstraftäter. Weiter gilt es, die Rolle streng hierarchischer Strukturen einer mit großem Einfluss ausgestatteten Organisation, wie die der katholischen Kirche, mit ihrer Forderung nach zölibatärem Ordensleben, bezüglich eines erhöhten Risikos, Sexualstraftäter in ihren Reihen anzutreffen, zu diskutieren. Übt im Ergebnis vielleicht gerade eine rigide Sexualpolitik besondere Anziehungskraft auf pädophil veranlagte Menschen aus oder fördert sie generell sexuelle Übergriffe? Im Fokus des Beitrags stehen die Resultate der bislang größten Studie aus den USA, welche ausführlich das Phänomen des Missbrauchs von Kindern und Jugendlichen durch Priester der katholischen Kirche untersucht. Erstmals stammen die Daten dabei nicht etwa nur aus den Quellen der Ermittlungsbehörden oder der Justiz, sondern in erster Linie aus den Archiven der katholischen Kirche, welche diese zum Zwecke der Untersuchung öffnete.
Story after story has appeared in the Australian media of sexual exploitation of children in church settings, and the cover-up of those crimes by superiors in the Church who, for whatever reason, chose not to involve the police or to act protectively towards children. Most such cases are in the Catholic Church. These patterns have been replicated in many countries across the western world.This paper, given as the 2013 Smith lecture in Sydney (October 2013), seeks to examine what we know about child sexual abuse in church contexts, comparing the available data on the Catholic Church with that in relation to other faith communities. Although the information is very limited, there are some indications that not only are rates of abuse by clergy and religious much higher in the Catholic Church than by clergy or pastoral staff of other churches, but that the rates may be higher than in the general population of males. Although there are some who argue that mandatory celibacy does not offer an explanation for this, the author argues that in fact it is a significant factor. The paper also examines some cultural explanations for the cover-ups, including the role of canon law and of clericalism. Church leaders in the past were discouraged from reporting to the police by a culture which saw the discipline of priests as a matter for the Church, and by a belief that bishops should not denounce their priest-sons to the civil authorities. Much has changed in Australia at least since 1996, and the efforts of the Catholic Church to make amends need to be understood and assessed in the light of that cultural context. However, some cases continue to be badly handled, issues of compensation remain a vexed question, and there are still ‘rotten apples’ holding positions of leadership or influence who ought to be removed. The Church, worldwide, has a serious governance problem. The paper concludes by saying that the Catholic Church will not be able to rebuild community trust until the leaders, who are tainted by the way in which they handled child sexual abuse cases earlier in their careers, have passed on the baton to a younger generation.
The present paper reviews the empirical literature on the proportion of child sexual abusers who were themselves sexually victimized as children. While findings in individual studies ranged between 0% and 67%, on average about 28% of the offenders reported being sexually victimized as children. This rate is higher than the base rate for community samples of non-offending males (about 10%), but is similar to the rates found in other sexual or non-sexual offender populations. The relationship between childhood sexual victimization and sexually abusing children as an adult does not appear to be specific; rather, it is probable that many forms of childhood maltreatment can lead to many forms of behavioral and psychological problems in adulthood.
This article will present data gathered by the authors through structured clinical interviews of 561 paraphiliacs regarding demographic characteristics, frequency and variety of deviant sexual acts, and number and characteristics of victims. Results show that nonincarcerated sex offenders (1) are well educated and socioeconomically diverse; (2) report an average number of crimes and victims that is substantially higher than that represented in the current literature; and (3) sexually molest young boys with an incidence that is five times greater than the molestation of young girls. The relevance of these findings is discussed.
An assessment is presented that examines a number of prominent factors from the professional literature describing the background and clinical characteristics of paraphilic individuals and sex offenders. The factors include sexual history and preference, substance abuse, mental illness, personality and defensiveness, history of violence, neuropsychological impairment, and biological problems. The reliability and validity of measures in use are reviewed with suggestions for a battery of measures that offer some index of dangerousness and targets for treatment.
REPORTS THE DERIVATION, STANDARDIZATION, AND CROSS-VALIDATION OF AN MMPI SCALE, O-H (OVERCONTROLLED HOSTILITY), WHICH DISCRIMINATES OVERCONTROLLED FROM UNDERCONTROLLED ASSAULTIVE CRIMINALS, NONVIOLENT CRIMINALS, AND NORMALS. SEVERAL CONSTRUCT VALIDITY STUDIES ARE PRESENTED WHICH INDICATE THAT THE SCALE IS SENSITIVE TO A MIXTURE OF SELF-CONTROL, HOSTILITY, AND ALIENATION. THE DATA ARE INTERPRETED AS SUPPORTING THE THEORY THAT ASSAULTIVE CRIMINALS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO OVERCONTROLLED AND UNDERCONTROLLED TYPES. THE USEFULNESS OF O-H IN CLINICAL ASSESSMENT AND IN PERSONALITY RESEARCH IS DISCUSSED.
The Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST) was designed to provide a brief instrument for clinical screening and treatment evaluation research. The 28 self-report items tap various consequences that are combined in a total DAST score to yield a quantitative index of problems related to drug misuse. Measurement properties of the DAST were evaluated using a clinical sample of 256 drug/alcohol abuse clients. The internal consistency reliability estimate was substantial at .92, and a factor analysis of item intercorrelations suggested an unidimensional scale. With respect to response style biases, the DAST was only moderately correlated with social desirability and denial. Concurrent validity was examined by correlating the DAST with background variables, frequency of drug use during the past 12 months, and indices of psychopathology. Although these findings support the usefulness of the DAST for quantifying the extent of drug involvement within a help-seeking population, further validation work is needed in other populations and settings.
• The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) was developed to reduce information variance in both the descriptive and diagnostic evaluation of a subject. The SADS is unique among rating scales in that it provides for (1) a detailed description of the features of the current episode of illness when they were at their most severe; (2) a description of the level of severity of manifestations of major dimensions of psychopathology during the week preceding the evaluation, which can then be used as a measure of change; (3) a progression of questions and criteria, which provides information for making diagnoses; and (4) a detailed description of past psychopathology and functioning relevant to an evaluation of diagnosis, prognosis, and overall severity of disturbance. This article reports on initial scale development and reliability studies of the items and the scale scores.
A total of 203 men accused of sexual offenses were compared on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R), the Halstead-Reitan Battery, school grade repeats and therapy outcome measures that included desire for treatment, attendance, and attitude to treatment. There were 75 intrafamilial and 54 extrafamilial child sexual abusers, 41 sexual aggressives and 43 miscellaneous sex offenders. Results showed that 52% were school dropouts and 53% had failed at least one grade in school. Although the group's intelligence was in the average range, 33% scored in the impaired range of the Halstead-Reitan Battery. Of the therapy outcome measures, only attitude to therapy was related to the Reitan Impairment Index, with more impaired individuals evincing a more negative attitude to therapy. Sex offenders with and without learning problems did not differ in desire for treatment, but those with learning problems had better attendance. Approaches to improving therapy success with clients who have learning difficulties are discussed.
Thirteen diabetic male sex offenders were compared to 13 nondiabetic sex offenders matched on age, education and offense type. A standard battery of tests administered in the assessment of sex offenders was used to compare the two groups. The tests examine sexual history and preference, substance abuse, violence, personality, and neuropsychological impairment. Results showed that diabetics more often than controls complained of impotence and were nonresponders during phallometric testing. Diabetics, as adults, tended to have less sexual experience with adults and more with pubescent females. The two groups did not differ in number of sexual or nonsexual offenses. The diabetics reported more problems controlling their emotions and more often than controls presented in assessment with inappropriate and/or aggressive behavior and poor cooperation. MMPI results showed diabetics to have more overall clinical disturbance than controls including anxiety, health concerns, family problems, authority problems, criminality, confused thinking and ruminating. Diabetics and controls did not differ in reported frequency of violent behavior but the diabetics responded more extremely, given the circumstances. Diabetics tended to show more violence to their own children. The role of diabetes in the relapse cycle model of offending is discussed.
Neuropsychological functioning, diagnoses, and substance abuse were compared among killers, nonhomicidal assaulters, and nonviolent offender controls. The Reitan and Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological test batteries, the WAIS-R, CT scans, and EEGs were examined with a trend to more neuropathology found in killers and assaulters than in controls. There were no group differences in ICD-9 diagnosis nor on the MMPI, although considerable personality pathology was noted in all groups. Violent offenders scored higher on the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST). The violent offenders were more likely to experience alcohol and drug-related mood dysphoria. The interaction of neuropsychological, personality, and substance abuse variables is discussed.
Research methodology and initial findings are detailed for a large scale retrospective study of clergy sexual offenders seen over a 25 year period in a residential treatment facility. Some observations concerning treatment modalities found to be effective with this population are also advanced.
A tremendous amount of media attention has been directed towards sexual abuse perpetrated by Roman Catholic priests in recent years. While there are countless research studies on both sexual abuse victims and perpetrators in the professional literature, there are very few comprehensive research studies specifically investigating Roman Catholic priests who sexually abuse minors or studies concerning the victims of priests themselves. While the scientific professional community could offer a great deal to this problem, their voice appears silent. The purpose of this article is to examine what is known about sexual abuse among the Catholic clergy and briefly suggest directions for future research and intervention.
A tremendous amount of media attention has been directed towards sexual abuse perpetrated by Roman Catholic priests in recent years. While there are countless research studies on both sexual abuse victims and perpetrators in the professional literature, very few have specifically investigated Roman Catholic priests who sexually abuse minors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of personality and cognitive variables among hospitalized sex offending Roman Catholic priests using specific MMPI-2, WAIS-R, and Halstead-Reitan measurements. Specifically, the role of defensive coping styles as measured by the L, K, O-H, and R scales of the MMPI-2 along with IQ scores from the WAIS-R and the Halstead impairment index were investigated. A total of 160 Roman Catholic priests (80 who sexually abused minors and 80 nonabusing control patients) hospitalized in a private psychiatric facility specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of clergy were evaluated. Results suggest that overcontrolled-hostility (O-H) was the most reliable predictor of group membership while Verbal IQ approached statistical significance. Implications for further research are offered.
Thirteen diabetic male sex offenders were compared to 13 nondiabetic sex offenders matched on age, education and offense type. A standard battery of tests administered in the assessment of sex offenders was used to compare the two groups. The tests examine sexual history and preference, substance abuse, violence, personality, and neuropsychological impairment. Results showed that diabetics more often than controls complained of impotence and were nonresponders during phallometric testing. Diabetics, as adults, tended to have less sexual experience with adults and more with pubescent females. The two groups did not differ in number of sexual or nonsexual offenses. The diabetics reported more problems controlling their emotions and more often than controls presented in assessment with inappropriate and/or aggressive behavior and poor cooperation. MMPI results showed diabetics to have more overall clinical disturbance than controls including anxiety, health concerns, family problems, authority problems, criminality, confused thinking and ruminating. Diabetics and controls did not differ in reported frequency of violent behavior but the diabetics responded more extremely, given the circumstances. Diabetics tended to show more violence to their own children. The role of diabetes in the relapse cycle model of offending is discussed.
A total of 461 male sex offenders were compared on their histories of alcohol and street drug use. The Drug Use Survey, Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), and Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST) were examined to provide measures of 1) type and frequency of substance use, 2) mood on alcohol and drugs, and 3) alcoholism and drug abuse. Most sex offenders had used alcohol and they had tried a wide range of street drugs. Over half of the sample had tried at least one street drug, including minor tranquilizers, amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, narcotics, phencyclidine, hallucinogens, and solvents. Marijuana was used most. Over one half of the sex offenders were alcoholics, based on the MAST. Results of the DAST suggested that less than a fifth of the sample had a drug abuse problem at the time of examination. Although the majority experienced positive affect in conjunction with alcohol and drug use, between one fifth and one half experienced depressed affect. Use of alcohol and amphetamines were most often associated with hostile feelings. Amphetamine and hallucinogen use were associated most with paranoia. Respondents felt most out of control with cocaine and hallucinogens. Results are discussed in terms of the role of substance abuse and violence in sex offences.
The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) was developed to reduce information variance in both the descriptive and diagnostic evaluation of a subject. The SADS is unique among rating scales in that it provides for (1) a detailed description of the features of the current episodes of illness when they were at their most severe; (2) a description of the level of severity of manifestations of major dimensions of psychopathology during the week preceding the evaluation, which can then be used as a measure of change; (3) a progression of questions and criteria, which provides information for making diagnoses; and (4) a detailed description of past psychopathology and functioning relevant to an evaluation of diagnosis, prognosis, and overall severity of disturbance. This article reports on initial scale development and reliability studies of the items and the scale scores.
Our earlier Femine Gender Identity Scale for males appear to measure a strong single factor which was reliable and displayed substantial discriminant validity. However, the number of items was small and there was substantial overlap between items with respect to their meaning. In an attempt to overcome these limitations, in the present study the scale was extended and validated. Each item of the new scale differentiated among the groups in an experimental sample and, subsequently, in a cross-validation sample. A secondary finding was the significantly higher femine gender identity scores of homosexual patients over homosexual nonpatients.
Because most heterosexual pedophilic offenses are committed by males who in fact erotically prefer adult females, the hypothesis was tested that males with nondeviant erotic preferences are generally prone to react in a sexual way to female children. With nondeviant subjects, penile volume changes (PVCs) were measured to stimulus slides and movie pictures of males and females, varying in age. There were significant differerences in PVCs to each of the female age groups shown, and responses were greater to all female age groups than to the male ones. PVCs to the youngest female age group (6 to 8 years) were clearly different not only from those to pictures of males but also from those to neutral slides. Reactions to certain parts of the female and male bodies at various stages of development were also assessed. Of female children, only the pubic region, and to some degree the buttocks, elicited clearly distinctive reactions.
The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), devised to provide a consistent, quantifiable, structured interview instrument to detect alcoholism, consists of 25 questions that can be rapidly administered. Five groups were given the MAST: hospitalized alcoholics, a control group, persons convicted of drunk driving, persons convicted of drunk and disorderly behavior, and drivers whose licenses were under review. The validity of the MAST was assessed by searching the records of legal, social, and medical agencies and reviewing the subjects' driving and criminal records. The MAST responses of 15 subjects who were found to be alcoholic in the record search were analyzed to determine where the screening failures had occurred. Recommendations are made for reducing the number of such "falsė negatives."
This study tested parts of the hypothesis that voyeurism, exhibitionism, toucheurism and frotteurism, obscene telephone calling, and at least some cases of the preferential rape pattern are all based on the same disturbance. In Part One, a frequency count of patients referred for one of these activities who subsequently reported having engaged in others of this same class was in accord with the clinical impression that there is a high degree of concomitance among at least some of these activities. In Parts Two and Three, relative preference for anomalous vs. normal erotic interactions was assessed by monitoring penile volume changes during verbally presented descriptions of corresponding situations. Part Two demonstrated that patients who suffered from one of the disorders in question other than voyeurism and who denied voyeuristic activity or tendencies, nonetheless responded more to narratives describing voyeuristic situations than did controls. Part Three showed that exhibitionists who denied toucheuristic activity or tendencies responded more to toucheuristic stimuli than did controls.
Cleric sexual misconduct with minors is a problem receiving increased attention from the media, victims groups, and church authorities. Mental health professionals are increasingly being asked to assist church and civil authorities to help better understand the problem of cleric sexual misconduct with minors. In the current study we compared self-reported sexual functioning among cleric alleged child molesters, noncleric alleged child molesters, and normal control subjects. We hypothesized clerics would differ from nonclerics and normals in reported sexual functioning. Our sample included 30 Roman Catholic clerics and 39 nonclerics who were alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with minors, and 38 normal control subjects, all of whom took the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI) as part of their forensic psychiatric evaluation. Our results indicated clerics were more likely to report fewer victims, older victims, and victims of male gender than noncleric alleged child molesters. Clerics differed from nonclerics and normal control subjects on several dimensions of self-reported sexual functioning. Lower offense rate histories among clerics suggest that, as a group, clerics may be less seriously psychologically disordered than noncleric child molesters. Low DSFI scores among Roman Catholic clerics may be accounted for in part by their unique training and socialization process. Future studies should attempt to study the influence of social desirability on DSFI scores. Normative data from nonoffending celibate clergy are needed.
Sexual abuse in childhood is frequently reported among sex offenders and has been hypothesized to be one of a number of psychological factors etiologically related to perpetration of child molestation in adulthood. In the current study we examine a sample of cleric and noncleric admitted child molesters and normal control subjects in their exposure to sexual abuse in childhood and current psychopathology. Odds ratios for the association between exposure to sexual abuse and child molestation were obtained while adjusting for group differences in demographic and psychological characteristics. Results indicated exposure to sexual abuse in childhood was associated with becoming a child molester for both cleric and noncleric offenders (p < .0002). Nonclerics indicated more severe psychopathology than clerics. Sexual abuse in childhood is one of many risk factors for becoming a perpetrator of child molestation in adulthood for both cleric and noncleric child molesters. Noncleric offenders demonstrated more sociopathy and mental disorder in general while cleric offenders indicated more sexual conflictedness, suggesting different psychoetiologies of offending among cleric and noncleric child molesters.
To determine if physician sex offenders differ significantly from other sex offenders by using a control group and assessing both groups with reliable and valid instruments.
Nineteen male physician sex offenders were compared with 19 male sex offender control subjects, matched on offence type, age, education, and marital status. Both groups were compared with a general sample of sex offenders (n = 2125). The 3 groups were compared on sexual history and preference, substance abuse, mental illness, personality, history of crime and violence, neuropsychological impairment, and endocrine abnormalities.
Physicians in this study were highly educated and older, forming a statistically significant subgroup of sex offenders. The majority of physician sex offenders suffered from a sexual disorder (68.4%), as did the other 2 groups. Physicians showed more neuropsychological impairment and endocrine abnormalities and less antisocial behaviour than did the general sample of sex offenders but did not differ from the matched control group. Physician offenders who sexually assaulted their patients did not differ from those who had nonpatient victims.
Despite differences in age, education, and occupation between physician sex offenders and sex offenders in general, the same assessment procedures can be recommended for examining both groups. Although the sample size is small, results suggest that physicians who commit sexual offences should be scrutinized by phallometric assessment of sexual deviance and especially for neurological and endocrine abnormalities.
Victim impact and disclosure statements were reviewed wherever possible. Neuropsychological Impairment was examined using the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery (Reitan, 1979) which includes the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
- Langevin
Langevin, 1985). Victim impact and disclosure statements were reviewed wherever possible. Neuropsychological Impairment was examined using the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery (Reitan, 1979) which includes the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R;
1972) were used for comparison of the groups Again the reliability of the SADS and MMPI-2 are well established. The MMPI-2 also offers measures of test taking attitude, and " faking good " or " faking bad " on the test, and includes the Overcontrolled Hostility
- Dahlstrom
- Welsh
Dahlstrom, Welsh, & Dahlstrom, 1972) were used for comparison of the groups. Again the reliability of the SADS and MMPI-2 are well established. The MMPI-2 also offers measures of test taking attitude, and " faking good " or " faking bad " on the test, and includes the Overcontrolled Hostility (OH) Scale (Megargee, Cook, & Mendelsohn, 1967) and Repression Scale which were examined for comparison with the data of Plante and colleagues (1996).
Erotic preference, gender identity, and aggression in men: New research studies
- R Langevin
Langevin, R. (1985). Erotic preference, gender identity, and aggression in men: New research studies. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.
Sexual preference testing: A brief guide
- R Langevin
Langevin, R. (1989). Sexual preference testing: A brief guide. Etobicoke, Ontario: Juniper Press.
Peripheral sex hormones, homosexuality, and gender identity Erotic preference, gender identity, and aggression in men: New research studies
- M Sanders
- J Bain
- R Langevin
Sanders, M., Bain, J., & Langevin, R. (1985). Peripheral sex hormones, homosexuality, and gender identity. In R. Langevin (Ed.), Erotic preference, gender identity, and aggression in men: New research studies (pp. 249 –259). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.
The Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI) Leonard R. Derogatis, 1228 Wine Spring Lane A diagnostic interview: The schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia
- L Derogatis
- J Endicott
- R L Spitzer
Derogatis, L. (1978). The Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). Leonard R. Derogatis, 1228 Wine Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD, 21204. Endicott, J., & Spitzer, R. L. (1978). A diagnostic interview: The schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 837– 844.
The Clarke Sex History Questionnaire Manual
- R Langevin
- D Paitich
- A Russon
- L Handy
- A Langevin
Langevin, R., Paitich, D., Russon, A., Handy, L., & Langevin, A. (1990). The Clarke Sex History Questionnaire Manual. Etobicoke, Ontario: Juniper Press.
Forensic considerations in the evaluation of seminary students and clergy for sexual misconduct
- J S Tucker
- A F Lobo
Tucker, J. S., & Lobo, A. F. (1998). Forensic considerations in the evaluation of seminary students and clergy for sexual misconduct. Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on the Treatment of Sex Offenders, Caracas, VZ, March 23–28, 1998.
The Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). Leonard R. Derogatis, 1228 Wine Spring Lane
- L Derogatis
Sexual victimization in the history of sexual abusers
- Hanson
A study of physicians who commit sexual offenses
- Langevin
Catholic priests who sexually abuse minors
- Plante
Peripheral sex hormones, homosexuality, and gender identity
- Sanders