From "Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches", by Carolyn
Holderread Heggen, Herald Press, Scotdale, PA, 1993 p. 73:
References:
"Since 1978, no credible new data have been published that
contradict the conclusions" of research completed by the following
studies:
According to Herek, Newton's review concluded that "gay men are no
more likely than heterosexual men to molest children." In Groth &qmp;
Birnbaum's study of 175 adult males convicted in Massachusetts of sexual
assault against a child, "none had an exclusively homosexual adult
sexual orientation."
40% in their study were classified as heterosexual, 13% as bisexual, 47% as
"fixated" (had not developed an adult sexual orientation), and
none were "primarily sexually attracted to other adult males."
(Groth & Birnbaum's words).
The least credible document is Paul Cameron's (the homophobe whose
membership in the American Psychological Association was revoked and who
was denounced by the American Sociological Association for misusing social
science data and methods) "Child Molestation and Homosexuality"
(Psychological Reports, 58, 1986, pp. 327-337) -- based on data from a
door-to-door survey in 7 cities in which Cameron assumes that all
male-to-male sexual assaults are homosexual, without any data supporting
the sexual orientation of the perpetrators, and with very problematic
sampling methods. See Herek's article for more details of this one.
Cameron, alas, is often used to testify and appear on talk shows arguing
that gays are child molestors, despite having his credentials and
expertise devalued by the major academic professional associations.
~*~
Hope this is helpful for those looking for this information.
Peter Nardi, Sociology Dept, Pitzer College, the Claremont Colleges (CA)
Return to the Clergy Abuse Index page.
Section 6:
"A disturbing fact continues to surface in sex abuse research. The
first best predictor of abuse is alcohol or drug addiction in the
father. But the second best predictor is conservative religiosity,
accompanied by parental belief in traditional male-female roles.
This means that if you want to know which children are most likely
to be sexually abused by their father, the second most significant
clue is whether or not the parents belong to a conservative
religious group with traditional role beliefs and rigid sexual
attitudes. (Brown and Bohn, 1989; Finkelhor, 1986; Fortune, 1983;
Goldstein et al, 1973; Van Leeuwen, 1990). (emphasis in original)
For those requesting information on the incidence of child molestation
among homosexuals vs. heterosexuals, etc. : Gregory Herek reviews some
of the literature on this issue in "Stigma, Prejudice, and violence
against Lesbians and Gay Men" (pp. 60-80 in John Gonsiorek and
James Weinrich (eds) "Homosexuality: Researcyh Implications for
Public Policy" Sage Publications, 1992). Herek says:
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