An exploratory study on mental health, social problems and spiritual damage in victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and other perpetrators

Abstract

The Catholic Church has faced a large number of complaints against its representatives for sexual crimes that involved children and adolescents as victims. The objective of this study was to characterize the dynamics of this type of event, its characteristics, and its effects in terms of mental health and social consequences, as well as the spiritual damage generated. The sample comprised 182 victims from Spain and Chile, divided into three mutually exclusive groups (n = 40 committed by a representative of the Catholic Church; n = 85 by a family member; n = 57 by a perpetrator outside the family and the Church). The results show that victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) by a representative of the Catholic Church and other perpetrators are similar in many respects (e.g., religiosity, characteristics of the abuse, and mental health and social problems), but that the effects on religiosity are more serious for victims of the clergy, affecting their belief in God. Finally, the extreme decline in belief in God, due to CSA, is an important predictor for most mental health and social problems. Our results show the need to include the Catholic identity, faith and spirituality in the therapeutic context.