Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Moral Panics and the Social Construction of Deviant Behavior: A Theory and Application to
the Case of Ritual Child Abuse
Author(s): Jeffrey S. Victor
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Sociological Perspectives, Vol. 41, No. 3 (1998), pp. 541-565
Published by: University of California Press
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Sociological
Perspectives
Association
?1998PacificSociological
Copyright
Vol.41,No. 3,pp.541-565
ISSN0731-1214
StateUniversity
ofNew York
a theory
ABSTRACT: Theobjective
ofthearticleis todevelop
ofthe
causesandtransmission
ofmoral
panics.Thetheory
isdesigned
toexplain
labeled
scaresandpersecuforms
ofcollective
behavior,
previously
panics,
tions.
Partoneofthisarticle
theidentification
presents
criteriafor
ofmoral
thesocialcondipanics.Parttwoofthearticle
offers
models
foranalyzing
tions,
which
causemoral
panicsandleadtothesocialconstruction
ofdefithesocialprocesses
nitions
ofdeviance.
Finally,
partthree
examines
by
which
moral
to
panicsaretransmitted
between
societies.
In order
different
illustrate
thetheoretical
analysis,
thearticle
presents
information
aboutthe
moral
current
criminal
accusations
panicinvolving
ofritualchildabuseby
satanic
cults.
secret,
542
from
a moralpanicis a societalresponsetobeliefsabouta threat
In simplification,
Stanley
Theterm"moralpanic"was coinedbyBritish
sociologist
moraldeviants1.
a
ofModsandRockers,
Coheninhisbook,FolkDevilsandMoralPanics:TheCreation
publicreactionto thedeviantbehaviorofthe"mods"and "rockstudyofBritish
a formofcollective
behaviorcharacers"youth.Cohenused thetermto identify
rumorstoriesdisseminatedby the mass media,
terizedby widelycirculating
thethreatposedbysomenewlyidentified
typeofmoraldeviwhichexaggerated
behavior
ants(Cohen1972).Cohendefineda moralpanicas a formofcollective
duringwhich:
A condition,
episode,personor groupemergesto becomedefinedas a threat
in a stylizedand stereoitsnatureis presented
tosocietalvaluesand interests;
typicalfashionby themass media;themoralbarricadesare mannedby edipeople;sociallyaccredited
tors,bishops,politiciansand otherrightthinking
expertspronouncetheirdiagnosisand solutions;waysofcopingareevolved
ordetethendisappears,submerges
or (moreoften)resorted
to;thecondition
andbecomesvisible(Cohen1972:9).
riorates
on deviance,whichwas
labelingperspective
Cohenemployeda societalreaction/
socialconstructionism.
an earlyantecedent
ofcurrent
The conceptof a moralpanic has been widelyused by Britishsociologists.
froma lackofprehave regardeditas suffering
However,Americansociologists
In an attempt
to makethe
and made littleuse ofit untilrecently.
ciseindicators
conceptless ambiguous,Goode and Ben-Yehudahave suggestedthefollowing
five specific indicators of a moral panic (summarized from Goode and BenYehuda 1994:33-39).
MoralPanicsandSocialConstruction
ofDeviantBehavior
543
4.
In brief,a moral panic is a formof collectivebehavior characterizedby suddenly increasedconcernand hostilityin a significantsegmentof a society,in reaction to widespread beliefs about a newly perceived threatfrommoral deviants.
Careful,empiricalexaminationat a latertime,however,reveals thattheperceived
threatwas greatlyexaggeratedor nonexistent.A moral panic oftengives rise to
social movementsaimed at eliminatingthe threateningdeviants and may generate moral crusades and politicalstrugglesover use of thelaw to suppress the dangerous deviants. Local rumor-panics,riots and ethnic pograms may occur in
reactionto beliefin the threat.However, such dramaticbehavior is not an essential element of the collectivebehavior. Belief,not emotion, is the motivational
dimension of a moral panic. The essence of a moral panic is thatsignificantsegments of a societyare reactingto a socially constructedthreatfrommoral deviants.The main observablebehavior duringa moral panic is the communicationof
claims,accusations and rumors.
The Study of Rumors and Claims about Moral Deviants
A contemporary(or urban) legend is the type of rumorthatis most commonly
partof a moral panic. Contemporarylegends are varietiesofpersistentrumorstories, transmittedprimarilyin oral communication,and secondarilythroughthe
mass media. The storiescommunicateshared anxietiesabout a newly perceived
threat.The stories also communicatea moral-politicalmessage conveyed in the
formof age-old recurringmotifsand metaphors (Victor 1993b). Contemporary
legends are told as ifstoriesare true,just as ordinaryrumors,and widely believed
as ifthe storiesare likelyto be true.However, unlike ordinaryrumors,the stories
are more persistent,and less relevantto specific,localized people and events.
A contemporarylegend is a process of collectivebehavior which consistsprimarilyof the collaborativecreationand communicationof rumorstoriesin ever
changingvariations(Ellis 1990). It is not a fixed and unchangingnarrative.It is
always emergentout of interactionand never finished.The storyis constantly
being reshaped,as people add parts,forgetpartsand distortparts.Contemporary
legends are oftenregarded as being merelyamusing tales having littlesocial consequence, like those about poisonous spiders found in bunches of bananas or
fried rats served as chicken. However, some contemporarylegends can have
harmfulconsequences,such as false accusations of crime,the destructionof reputationsand property,riotsand even killings.Examples of harmfulcontemporary
legends include those thatpromoteracistand anti-Semitichatred.
Exaggerated claims-makingabout deviants is a central phenomenon during
moral panics. Therefore,an analysis of the claims-makingprocess is thefocus ofa
544
social constructionist
studyof deviantbehavior.The contentof claims about deviance include matterssuch as: stereotypesof deviants and theirbehavior,typologies of variations among deviants, descriptionsof the dangers and particular
harms caused by deviants and rationales for dealing with deviants. The basic
premiseof social constructionism
is thatdeviance is a socially constructedmeaning. These claims constructthe definitions(symbolic meanings) attributedto
deviance. Therefore,social constructionist
researchand analysis focus upon the
claims-makers,ratherthanthebehavior and people definedas deviant;therhetoric and propaganda of the claims-makers,theirvested interests,theirauthority
and power in a society(Best 1989; Conrad and Schneider1992).2
The claims made about satanicritualabuse (hereafterabbreviatedas SRA) have
been studied by Hicks (1991), Jenkins(1992), Nathan and Snedeker (1995), and
Victor(1993a, 1994,1995,1996). Most claims assertthatthereexistsecret,criminal
organizations,which commithorriblecrimesagainstchildren,motivatedby worship of Satan. Some claims assert the existenceof an internationalconspiratorial
network.Less extremeversions assert that the secret networksconsist only of
intergenerational
familyclans. Ritual tortureand sexual abuse of childrenis done
supposedly to "program"childrento reversegood and evil. The purportedaim is
to "brainwash" childreninto the ideology of Satan worship. In theirSatan-worshipping rituals,these criminalssupposedly sometimeskill and sacrificeinfants
born to impregnated"breeders" and commitcannibalism with the body parts.
Some claims-makerseven assertthatsatanic cults kidnap runaway youthforritual sacrifice,commitrandom murdersofindigentpeople, and engage in thecriminal businesses of child pornography,forcedprostitutionand drug dealing. These
criminalsare able to maintaintheirsecrecyand avoid detection,accordingto the
all the institutionsof society.
claims-makers,because satanistshave infiltrated
The main evidence to support these claims consists primarilyof accusations
made by hundreds of adult psychotherapypatients who report decades-old
memoriesof ritualtortureand sexual abuse by theirparents,and similaraccusationsmade by childrenagainsttheirparentsor child care workers.The authorities
making these claims include some psychotherapists,social workers,local law
enforcementofficials,fundamentalistclergy,and membersof anti-cultorganizations.
States,and thereis no precisecountofthenumberofcriminalprosecutions.However, a random sample national survey of 2,272 clinical psychologistswho are
members of the American Psychological Association found almost 3,000 cases
reportedby the 802 psychotherapists,who said thattheyhad seen at least one
case of SRA. These psychotherapistsreportedseeing 1,228 cases of adults who
theydefined as victimsof SRA and 1,500cases of childrenwho theydefined as
victimsofSRA (Bottoms,Shaver,and Goodman 1996). The numbersofSRA cases
are likelymuch higher,consideringthatmany thousands of psychotherapistsare
clinicalsocial workersand diversekinds of counselors.
psychiatrists,
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545
Some SRA accusations have been taken to the criminalcourts.A national survey of a sample of 706 districtattorneys,1,037 social service workersand 2,912
law enforcementagencies found that 302 respondentshad encounteredat least
one SRA case (Goodman, Qin, Bottoms,and Shaver,1995).A legal surveydone by
the False Memory SyndromeFoundation of criminalcases involvingallegations
of child sexual abuse made by adults based upon purportedrecoveredmemories
offersmore useful data, at least about accusations made by adults against their
parents.A legal survey of 78 criminalcases done in September,1996,found that
in the United States from1989 throughearly 1996,47 cases (60%) involved adult
allegations of ritual abuse (FMSF, personal communication,9/96). By the early
1990s,many adult formerpsychotherapypatientshad retractedtheirmemoriesof
SRA and filedmalpracticelawsuits against theirformertherapistsand hospitals.
Another legal survey done by the False Memory Syndrome Foundation conducted on 59 civil lawsuits between 1991 and 1997 found 34 cases (57%) involved
purportedmemoriesof SRA (FMSF Legal Survey 1998).
The rapid rise and decline of SRA accusationsgives evidence to thevolatilityof
a moral panic. Claims about ritual child abuse by satanic cults began to appear
rathersuddenly. The oldest known sataniccult "survivor"accountwas published
(Smithand Pazder 1980). SRA testimoniin 1980 in the book, MichelleRemembers
in the United States during
als, accusations and rumorsspread rapidlythereafter
the early 1980s and thendeclined rapidlyduringthe early 1990s.
Thereis evidence of widespread concernand hostilityin response to SRA accusations. It can be foundin sataniccult crimeaccountsin the mass media: in popular books and magazine articles, in small-town newspaper articles, and on
televisiontalk shows (Hicks 1991; Victor 1993a). Evidence can also be found in
recordsfromSRA professionaltrainingseminarsforpsychotherapistsand social
workers offeredat professionalconferences,and in continuingeducation programs at colleges (Mulhern 1991, 1994; Nathan and Snedeker 1995). Furtherevidence can be found in the hundreds of accusations of SRA against parents and
childcareworkers,many of which have led to civil and criminaltrials.
There is evidence thatSRA accusations were regarded as being "real and serious" by sizable segments of the American population. A 1994 national survey
reportedin Redbookmagazine, forexample, found that 70 percentof Americans
"believe that at least some people who claim that they were abused by satanic
cults as children,but repressedthememoriesforyears,are tellingthetruth"(Ross
1994:88).Furtherevidence of widespread beliefin the existenceof the SRA comes
froma 1989 Texas statewidetelephonepoll, which found that80% of the respondents believed that Satanism is an increasing problem in American society
(reported in Crouch and Damphousse 1992). In addition, survey research has
found thata sizable percentageof American and Britishpsychotherapists,social
workers and counselors believe SRA accounts, in part or whole, as accurate
accounts of satanic cult crime;or at least attributecredibilityto them (Andrews,
Morton,Bekerian,Brewin,Davies, and Mollon 1995; Bottoms,Shaver,and Goodman 1996; Poole, Lindsay,Memon, and Bull 1995). This researchmeans thatthousands of professionalswho claim authorityin understandinghuman behavior
believe thatthereexistsa real threatfromsatanic cult child abusers.
546
Finally,thereis evidence thatthe societal reactionto the claims was disproportionateto thethreatposed by SRA. So far,no law enforcementagencyor research
study has found the kind of physical evidence needed to support accounts of
SRA. No one has turnedup writtenor electroniccommunications,bank account
records,meetingsin process, members who can identifyleaders, or any of the
vast number of bodies of people supposed murdered by satanic cults. Official
governmentreportsfromseveral countriescould findno such evidence to support claims about SRA. These reports include those from the Department of
Health of theUnited Kingdom (La Fontaine1994); fromtheNetherlandsMinistry
of Justice(1994); fromthe BehavioralScience Unit of the FBI (Lanning 1992); and
state agencies in Michigan (Michigan State Police 1990), Virginia (VirginiaState
Crime Commission Task Force 1991), and Washington(Parr 1996). In addition,a
national survey of psychotherapistscould not find a single SRA accusation
reportedby the psychotherapists,
where therewas reliable evidence to corroborate SRA accusations fromeitherchildrenor adults (Bottoms,Shaver,and Goodman 1996). In the reports of psychotherapistsabout their patients' SRA
accusations,thereis no convincingexternalcorroboratingevidence forthe existence of satanic cult criminals,in eitherorganizationsor intergenerational
family
clans.
The only social phenomena that exists which bares any resemblance to SRA
claims are teenage delinquents and mentallydisordered killerswho call themselves "satanists".However, these deviants do not constitutean organization,a
criminalnetworkor a religiouscult.Therefore,in the absence of any scientificevidence to confirmthe existence of organized groups that tortureand sexually
abuse childrenin satanic rituals,it is reasonable to suggest thatthe societal reactionto SRA claims has been excessive.
PART II: THE CAUSES OF MORAL PANICS
Theoretical Models of Moral Panics
Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) offerthreetheoreticalmodels foranalyzing the
causes of moral panics: 1) the grass roots model, 2) the elite-engineeredmodel
and 3) the interestgroup model. These models can be used to understanddifferent typesof moral panics.
TheGrassRootsModel-suggests thata moral panic arises spontaneouslyacross
a broad spectrum of a society's population. The concern and anger about the
threatfromperceived moral deviants is a response to persistentand widespread
social stresses.Anxieties arising fromthese social stresses are not able to gain
directexpression.Instead, the anxietiesare displaced and directedtoward social
deviants,who become regardedas the cause of concern.Newly detecteddeviants
essentiallyfunctionas collectivescapegoats forthe anxietiestransferred
to them
(Victor 1992). The targeted deviants are perceived through cultural symbols,
which reflectthe real,underlyingsocial stresses.
The actions of special interestgroups are not necessaryto promotemoral outrage directedat the newly perceived dangerous deviants. The mass media and
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THE CAUSES OF MORAL PANICS:
THE CASE OF RITUAL CHILD ABUSE
The followinginterpretation
of the causes of the moral panic over satanic ritual
abuse is offeredas a case study illustrationof social dynamics of the interest
group model of moral panics. It also illustrateshow false accusationsof deviance
duringmoral panics can constructpurelyimaginarydeviants.
Widespread Belief in a Threat fromNew Forms of Deviance
Beliefin a potentialthreatfrommoral deviantsmustspread widely in a society,
beforea moral panic can get started.How did beliefin a threatfromsecretsatanic
cults spread widely in American society? Most past studies of moral panics
assume that belief in a new threatfrommoral deviants is largely a product of
mass media sensationalism(McRobbie and Thornton1995). However, this was
not the case in the satanic cult scare. Instead, the mass media basically disseminated the claims of authoritiespresentedas being so-called expertsin detecting
satanic cultcrime.
Crouch and Damphousse (1992) carried out a contentanalysis of satanic cult
scare storiesin eightmajor citynewspapers in the U.S. They concluded thatthe
newspapers provided a forumforpurportedexpertswho claimed to be able to
identifythe symptomsof sataniccult crime(local police, clergy,and psychotherapists). However, the newspapers did not deliberatelytryto inflamerumorsabout
these crimes.In my own research,I came to a similarconclusionabout the role of
the mass media. The moral panic involvingSRA spread widely only aftersome
segmentsof the mass media popularized the claims of authoritieswho lentcredibilityto rumorsand accusations about satanic cult crime (Victor1993a:253-255).
Specifically,claims-makingfromthe so-called expertswas rarein large citynewspapers and largelyabsenton nationaltelevisionnews. In contrast,claims-making
by theseexpertsabout sataniccult crimewas commonon nationaltelevisiontalkshows, in small-townnewspapers,and in Christianreligiousbooks.
Timing is also crucial to the emergence of a moral panic. The moral panic
involving SRA began at a time,in the early 1980s, when several similar moral
panics involving the motif of violent victimizationof children had emerged.
There was already widespread belief that child sexual abuse was much more
common than had previously been thought (Howitt 1992). In the early 1980s,
therewas already moral panic over crimesagainst children,involvingclaims that
thousands of childrenwere being kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered
(Best 1990). As a result,the general public was more receptiveto the authorities
thatlentcredibilityto SRA stories,thanhad the timingbeen different.
The Expansion of Authorityin Social Control
Authorityplays a key role in definingformsof deviantbehavior.Authorityalso
provides legitimacyforclaims about new threatsto society.Established institutionalauthoritiesdo not easily regardnew claims about threatsto societyas being
credible.However, when new formsof authoritybegin to develop and to compete for power over a jurisdictionwith previously established authorities,the
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Mayer 1991; Noblittand Perskin1995; Ross 1995; Ryder 1992; Shafferand Cozolino 1992; Sakheim and Devine 1992; Smith1993; Smithand Pazder, 1980; Young,
Sachs, Braun,and Watkins1991).
The "discovery" of the ritual sexual abuse of childrenby secret satanic cults
thrustthese marginalspecialistsinto the spotlightof mass media attention,even
when theydid not seek it,because theirdiscoverywas so sensational.The mass
media quickly responded to the bizarre accounts of SRA and invitedthese SRA
"experts"to discuss theirdiscoveryon televisiontalk-shows,on radio programs,
and in newspaper and magazine articles(Victor1993a). The mass media used the
dramaticclaims of these "experts"to attractaudiences.
Some were also asked to be professionaladvisors to social movementorganizationsconcernedwithsexual child abuse. Some of themeven helped to lobby state
legislaturesfornew laws to protectchildrenfromcriminalsatanic cults and were
successful in obtaininglaws in at least four states. The passage of special laws
against SRA then functionedto provide political legitimacyto SRA accusations.
to claims about SRA.
All of these activitiesset the stage fora counter-reaction
When some interestgroups expand their authorityand power, they almost
inevitablyencounter opposing interestgroups. The SRA claims of "recovered
memory"therapistsand child protectionsocial workersaroused the concernsof
many behavioral scientists,as well as psychotherapistswhose therapy was
grounded in behavioral and biomedical treatments.In response,theseprofessionals organized themselvesto influenceprofessionaland public opinion, framing
the issue in a civil libertiescontext(possibly false accusations and false memories), ratherthan one focused on the purported symptoms of psychologically
abnormalbehavior (Beckett1996).
Faulty Techniques forInvestigatingDeviant Behavior
Widespread false accusations of deviance are produced, when authoritiesrely
upon faultytechniquesfordistinguishingbetween trueand falseaccusations.The
key problemin investigationsof accusationsof sexual child abuse, includingSRA
accusations,is thatreliable,scientifictechniqueshave not yetbeen developed for
distinguishingbetween true and false accusations of child sexual abuse (Ofshe
and Watters 1994; Pendergrast1995; Wakefield and Underwager 1994; Yapko
1994). Three types of faultyinvestigativetechniques have been used to detect
SRA: 1) those employingunreliable indicators,2) those resultingin false confessions and false accusations;and 3) those resultingin falsememories.
UnreliableIndicators
Faulty techniques in the investigationof sexual child abuse include highly
ambiguous check-listsof indicatorsused by child protectioncounselors to identifysupposed "symptoms"of sexual abuse in a child's personality(Nathan and
Snedeker 1995). Ambiguous lists of indicatorsare also used by psychotherapists
to identifythe supposed long-rangeeffectsof sexual abuse in thebehavioroftheir
adult patients(Lindsay and Read 1994; Loftus1993). When authoritiesrelyupon
ambiguous indicators of deviance, false accusations become inevitable. When
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TheTraditionalChristianDemonology
People who accept the Christiantraditionalistdemonologyregardthe ultimate
cause of evil, as being due to the activitiesor workingsof Satan. In this frame,
Satan-worshippersare seen as being actual agents of Satan, who are tryingto
spread immoralityof all kinds, in order to destroythe moral order of American
societyand hastenSatan's take over of the world. The logic is thatifgood people
are workingforGod, than evil people must be workingforSatan. Thus, satanic
cult crimeand SRA in particularare simplymore examples of the growingmoral
corruptionin Americansocietyby "evil" people, who rejectGod and trueChristianity(Jenkins1992; Jenkinsand Maier-Katkin1992; Lippert 1990; Victor1994).
An increasingnumber of psychotherapistsidentifythemselvesas being "Christian therapists".(Goleman 1991).
556
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
TheSocial Conservative
Demonology
People who hold the social conservativedemonology regard "liberal permissiveness" as the underlyingcause of most social evils. In this frame,"ritualistic
crime"is seen as being a productof thehedonisticpursuitof pleasure and power
and the increasingclimateof moral permissiveness.SRA is viewed as being one
more manifestationof the moral decline and corruptionof American society,
which has its source in the moral anarchyof the 1960s. The social conservative
demonology is most likely to be found among local police who are self-proclaimed expertsin investigatingsatanic cultcrime(Hicks 1991).
TheFeministDemonology
There are differentfeministideologies. Some emphasize socio-economicinequalityas being theessentialdestructiveforcein society.However, otherfeminist
ideologies hold a demonology that regards male dominance in society (patriarchy) and itsexploitationofwomen and childrenas theessentialunderlyingthreat
to the moral orderof society.Feministpsychotherapistsand social workers,who
hold thelatterdemonology,are thosemostlikelyto attributecredibilityto accusationsof SRA (Nathan 1991; Nathan and Snedeker 1995;Victor1993a). They frame
SRA accusationsin termsof an analogy withthe victimizationofwomen by male
sexual aggression,as in cases of rape, incestand sexual harassment.They see ritual child abuse as one more example of thehidden sexual exploitationof women
and children They regard skepticismabout accusations of SRA, as one more
attemptby men to discreditwomen and children'stestimonyabout theirsexual
victimizationby men. Yet,theyignorethe factthatmany of the people who have
been accused ofSRA are mothersand femalechildcareworkers.
PART III CROSS-NATIONAL CULTURAL
DIFFUSION OF MORAL PANICS
Accusations,claims and rumorsabout satanic cult crimehave surfacedin many
countries other than the United States since the mid-1980s. These countries
include: Canada (Lippert 1990), the United Kingdom (Jenkins1992; La Fontaine
1994), Australia (Guilliantt1996; Richardson 1997), New Zealand (Hill and Barnett 1994), the Netherlands (Netherlands Ministryof Justice 1994), Norway
(Dyrendal 1998), and Sweden. Some psychotherapistssuggest that the vivid
accounts of SRA, given by childrenand adult psychotherapypatientsin so many
different
nations,are evidence thatsecret,criminalsatanic cults exist around the
world. They assume thatit is impossible foraccounts of victimizationthatare so
similar,to surfaceabout the same time,in so many distantcountries.However,
sociologistsand anthropologistswho are familiarwith past examples of cultural
diffusionare likelyto be quite skepticalof such an assumption.
One informativeexample took place in the twelfthcenturyand involved accusations remarkablysimilar to those of ritual child abuse. Accusations of ritual
child murdermade against the Jewsoriginatedin twelfthcenturyEngland, then
traveledquicklyacross the EnglishChannel to northernFrance,and fromthereto
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