Psychological aspects of sexual functioning among cleric and noncleric alleged sex offenders

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. Les mauvaises conduites sexuelles du clergé face aux mineurs constituent un problème qui attire de plus en plus l'attention des médias, des groupes de victimes et des autorités religieuses. Les professionnels de la santé mentale sont de plus en plus sollicités pour assister les autorités civiles et religieuses à mieux comprendre ce problème. La présente étude compare le fonctionnement sexuel signalé par les curés, qui sont accusés d'avoir molesté des enfants à celui des personnes non religieuses, accusées des mêmes méfaits et à un groupe contrôle de sujets normaux. L'hypothèse posée a été que les curés rapporteraient des fonctionnements sexuels différents des agresseurs non religieux et des sujets normaux. Notre étude comporte 30 curés de l'Eglise Catholique Romaine et 39 non religieux, accusés de mauvaises conduites sexuelles avec des mineurs et 38 sujets normaux (contrôles), qui ont tons été soumis au “Derogatis Sexua