NCJ Number
224804
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 17 Issue: 3/4 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 329-358
Date Published
November 2008
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study examined the role of gender in clergy-perpetrated sexual assault (CPSA).
Abstract
Results found that knowing the age at which CPSA occurred could provide some insight into the idiographic problems a survivor might be experiencing in addition to posttraumatic symptomatology. Both adult and child survivors of CPSA describe the progression of the abusive relationship in similar ways, yet symptomatology varies greatly owing to the survivors’ age, gender, and cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Culture and ethnicity may also play a role in how the survivor discusses the abuse and to whom he or she discloses the abuse. The study discussed the PTSD diagnosis, its application to sexual abuse generally, and its application to CPSA in particular; the child development and gender as important moderating factors in the relationship between CPSA and its sequelae; what is known about treatment and recovery from other types of sexual abuse and the clinical implications of gender and development for the initial presentation and treatment course of CPSA survivors; potential barriers to CPSA survivors, such as, disclosing that they have been abused, a necessary step to accessing treatment; and recommendations for future clinical research into the assessment, treatment, and potential moderating factors of recovery from CPSA. Notes and references