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The study is currently closed to new participants. Thank you for your interest.

If you are interested in the doctoral dissertation based on this study, please click here.

Clergy Sex Abuse Study

Most research on clergy abuse has examined the perpetrating clergy rather than the survivors they have impacted. Because so little is known from the survivors’ perspective, a study is being conducted by researchers at Nova Southeastern University (IRB protocol # 04241319Exp) to examine the unique psychological and spiritual effects of clergy sex abuse on those survivors. We are looking for adults (those over age 18) who survived childhood abuse (before the age of 18) by either a clergy member, a member of their family, or anyone else to participate in this study. Information from survivors of sexual abuse by a family member or someone outside of the family will allow us to examine how clergy abuse may impact survivors differently than other forms of abuse.

If you choose to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete an anonymous online survey with questions about your sexual abuse history and your current psychological and spiritual functioning. Because of the importance of having a comparison group, feel free to share this study link with others you know who may have been abused, even if the abuser was not clergy.

Please help extend our knowledge of the effects of clergy sexual abuse by following the link below:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/59Z5CNX