Psychological Patterns Among Roman Catholic Clergy Accused of Sexual Misconduct

Plante, Thomas G.; Aldridge, Arianna A.

doi:10.1007/s11089-005-6184-8

Cited by 33 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Specifically, 2% are believed to be potentially diagnosable as a pedophile (i.e., sexual focus on prepubescent children), while 4% could be diagnosable as an ephebophile (i.e., sexual fixation on those between the ages of 15 and 19 years of age) (Sipe 1990(Sipe , 1995. Other psychological issues that have been attributed to priests that have been known to engage in child sexual abuse include addiction, depression, and even cognitive dysfunction (Blanchard 1991;Plante and Aldridge 2005).…”

Section: Clergy Offender Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Sexual Abuse in Protestant Christian Congregations: A Descriptive Analysis of Offense and Offender Characteristics

2018

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Abstract:Utilizing data from 326 cases of alleged child sexual abuse that occurred at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian congregations, this study examines demographic and contextual characteristics of alleged child sexual abuse that took place within the most prevalent religious environment in the United States. Research questions are addressed in this study. First, what type of child sexual abuse most commonly occurs at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian congregations? Second, where do such offenses physically take place? Third, who are the offenders and what role(s) do they assume in the congregations? We find that the overwhelming majority of offenses were contact offenses that occurred on church premises or at the offender's home, and that most offenders were white male pastors or youth ministers who were approximately 40 years in age. We conclude with policy implications and recommendations for future research.

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Section: Clergy Offender Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Sexual Abuse in Protestant Christian Congregations: A Descriptive Analysis of Offense and Offender Characteristics

2018

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“…Perpetrators must also cope with their wrongdoings to some degree, which might include defensive responses such as repression (PLANTE, ALDRIDGE, 2005).…”

Section: Moral Strugglementioning

confidence: 99%

Religious and Spiritual Struggles as Concerns for Health and Well-Being

2016

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People struggle with religion and spirituality in several ways, including challenges in trusting God, confronting supernatural evil, tolerating other perspectives on religion, maintaining moral propriety, finding existential meaning, and managing religious doubt. These religious and spiritual (R/S) struggles relate to both physical and mental health independently of other religious and distress factors. Causality in this connection needs further study, but evidence supports many potential causes and moderators of the link between R/S struggle and health. These include personality, social, and environmental influences, including traumatic experiences and subcultural differences. Many theoretical questions remain unresolved, including how change in R/S struggle can predict or be predicted by change in health and other connected constructs, and how one might intervene to aid those who struggle with religious or spiritual challenges. Nonetheless, research momentum has grown, having already produced a wealth of information that underscores the need for greater attention to this domain. R/S struggle poses an important exception to generally positive overall associations between religion and well-being, though even R/S struggle may promote growth. This review offers a brief introduction to emerging psychological theory and research on R/S struggle with an emphasis on its relevance to wellness and illness.Keywords: religion; spirituality; struggle; stress; well-being; health ResumoAs pessoas experimentam conflitos com a religião e a espiritualidade de vários modos, incluindo os desafios em confiar em Deus, o confronto com o mal sobrenatural, a tolerância em relação a outras perspectivas sobre a religião, a manutenção do decoro moral, a busca de um sentido existencial e o gerenciamento da dúvida religiosa. Esses conflitos religiosos e espirituais (R/S) dizem respeito tanto à saúde física quanto a mental, independentemente de outros fatores religiosos e de sofrimento. A relação de causa e efeito, neste contexto, necessita de mais estudos, mas há evidências que apoiam a existência de muitas causas potenciais e moderadoras da relação entre conflitos Religiosos/Espirituais (R/S) e saúde. Estas incluem personalidade, influências sociais e ambientais, incluindo as experiências traumáticas e diferenças culturais. Várias questões teóricas permanecem pendentes, incluindo como a mudança nos conflitos religiosos e espirituais (R/S) poderia prever ou ser prognóstico de mudança na saúde e outras questões afins, e como se pode intervir para ajudar aqueles que enfrentam conflitos religiosos ou espirituais. No entanto, embora o montante da pesquisa tenha crescido, tendo produzindo inclusive uma riqueza de informações, ressalta-se a necessidade de uma maior atenção nesse campo Os conflitos religiosos/espirituais (R/S) colocam uma importante questão para a associação geralmente positiva entre religião e bem estar, ainda que os conflitos religiosos/espirituais (R/S) possam promover crescimento. Esse estudo oferece uma breve introdu...

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“…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, ; Haywood, Kravitz, Wasyliw, Goldberg, & Cavanaugh, ; Falkenhain, Duckro, Hughes, Rossetti, & Gfeller, ; Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, ; Plante & Aldridge, ; Ukeritis, ). For example, Haywood and colleagues () 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.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blessed be the Children: A Case–Control Study of Sexual Abusers in the Catholic Church

Calkins

Fargo

Jeglic

et al. 2015

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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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.

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Psychological Patterns Among Roman Catholic Clergy Accused of Sexual Misconduct

Cited by 33 publications

References 4 publications

Child Sexual Abuse in Protestant Christian Congregations: A Descriptive Analysis of Offense and Offender Characteristics

Child Sexual Abuse in Protestant Christian Congregations: A Descriptive Analysis of Offense and Offender Characteristics

Religious and Spiritual Struggles as Concerns for Health and Well-Being

Blessed be the Children: A Case–Control Study of Sexual Abusers in the Catholic Church

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