Cycle of abuse and psychopathology in cleric and noncleric molesters of children and adolescents

Comparison of Childhood Sexual Histories in Subjects with Pedophilia or Opiate Addiction and Healthy Controls

“…Although previous studies have compared the incidence of CSA in pedophilic groups to that of other offender groups, 15,17 to our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the specificity of CSA as a risk factor for pedophilia from the viewpoint of a behavioral addiction model.…”

“…16 One study found over 5 times greater likelihood of a history of CSA in male sex offenders against children than in non-sexually offending controls. 17 A study of 303 heterosexual males, including pedophilic sex offenders against females, pedophilic sex offenders against males, and sex offenders against adult women found that, while there is an association between a history of CSA and pedophilia, no such connection exists for sex offenders in general. 15 In our own study comparing 20 male subjects with pedophilia and 24 male healthy control subjects, 75% of those with pedophilia reported a first sexual encounter before age 14, while only 22% of control subjects did.…”

Priests Who Abuse and Were Abused: Understanding Victimization in the Catholic Church

“…Specifically, the odds of a sexually abused cleric offending against children in adulthood were 6.05 times higher than those of a nonabused cleric. Though the small sample size of this study limits generalizability of these results, Haywood et al (1996) suggested that these findings may indicate unique etiological pathways to offending for cleric and noncleric perpetrators.…”

“…Haywood, Kravitz, Wasyliw, Goldberg, & Cavanaugh (1996) found an association between having been sexually abused in childhood and perpetrating an offense against a child in adulthood, and this association was apparent for both clerics and nonclerics. Specifically, the odds of a sexually abused cleric offending against children in adulthood were 6.05 times higher than those of a nonabused cleric.…”

Psychological characteristics of Irish clerical sexual offenders

“…Controlled studies of the personality traits and personal characteristics of clerical child sexual offenders suggest that they may be better adjusted psychologically than their lay counterparts (Haywood, Kravitz, Grossman, Wasyliw, & Hardy, 1996;Haywood, Kravitz, Wasyliw, Goldberg, & Cavanaugh, 1996;Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000). In a study of 30 clerical child sexual offenders, 39 laymen who had sexually abused children and 38 normal controls, Haywood, Kravitz, Grossman et al (1996) found that clerical abusers had fewer psychological problems than offenders and had committed fewer offenses, had fewer victims, and more of their victims were male adolescents.…”