Devastated spirituality: The impact of clergy sexual abuse on the survivor's relationship with god and the church

Abstract

This study seeks to measure the impact of sexual abuse by clergy on the survivors's church attendance, church participation, and relationship with God. An original 15-item spirituality scale was used. Another original set of 36 statements concerning the participant's relationship with God, church, and others was included to test for validity and reliability. Results suggest that the spirituality of survivors abused as children is more severely impaired than that of survivors abused as adults. A larger adult sample is necessary to determine the full extent of the impact of clergy sexual abuse on survivors abused as adults. Church attendance decreased for both Catholics and Protestants after the abuse experience.

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