“Learning to Have a Voice”: The Spouse’s Experience of Clergy Sexual Misconduct

The present qualitative study aimed to explore the systemic experience of spouses of clergy members who engaged in sexual misconduct in order to gain a holistic picture and therefore inform clinical practice and research for this specific population. Seven clergy spouses, five females and two males, participated in semi-structured interviews that utilized narrative inquiry. A consensual, team-based approach to analyzing patterns across the interview transcripts revealed two simultaneous organizing structures—relational (intrapersonal, dyadic, and contextual) and temporal (pre-misconduct, during misconduct, and post-misconduct)—both of which are derived from an ecosystemic approach to viewing participant experiences. The resulting structure highlights challenges faced by participants, couples, and congregations as well as factors influencing the recovery process. Specifically, findings suggest the need to increase awareness of systemic risk factors for sexual misconduct and to utilize clinical interventions that extend beyond the individual to address marital, familial, and communal distress. The results also point to the need for further research examining the means through which sexual misconduct impacts other individuals, relationships, and communities and for a more thorough and encompassing understanding of the overall impact of sexual misconduct by religious leaders. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.