Child sexual molestation by priests and reactions of Catholic parishioners: A comparative study

This sociological study explores the effects an incident of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest has on Catholic parishioners. An interpretation of a comparative analysis was done between a parish in which an incident of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest occurred and a demographically similar parish with no such reported incident. Data from face-to-face survey interviews (N = 100) suggests that members of the Catholic Church whose parish priest had sexually abused children were more likely to indicate lower levels of approval toward Church policies than parishioners whose parish had no reported incident of abuse. Furthermore, it was found that differences in levels of religiosity affect parishioners' trust and confidence in the Catholic Church.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

1994

Author dc:creator

• Gallegos, Merlinda Raquel

Contributors dc:contributor

• Donald E. Carns

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/445

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-1444