Public character perceptions of sexually deviant groups (original) (raw)
Related papers
Attitudes towards sexual offenders: What do we know, and why are they important?
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2017
Over the past two decades, a large body of research on attitudes towards sexual offenders has been conducted across a number of different contexts. However, there has been less discussion of their implications. Clinically, attitudes may be related to therapeutic climates and treatment outcomes and risk judgments, while in the social context, the views of the public about sexual offenders may play a key role in the reintegration of these offenders, and the political responses associated with sexual offending. Sexual crime is advocated as a public health issue, with attitudes towards the perpetrators of such offenses being of critical importance when trying to create a social environment within which to successfully reduce rates of sexual offending. In this article, the research evidence currently available in this area is reviewed. An analysis of the conceptualization and measurement of attitudes towards sexual offenders is provided, before the existing literature on the factors underlying such attitudes is explored. Following this, the malleability of attitudes towards sexual offenders is examined. The review concludes with some suggestions for future theoretical, empirical, and practical advancements in this important area.
Societal Reaction to Sex Offenders: a Review of the Origins and Results of the Myths
Examination of societal reaction to sexual offenders reveals a history of harshness exemplified by the sexual psychopath laws of the 1930s. The latest round of legal attempts to control sex offenders uses Severe sentencing laws, civil commitment procedures and community notification statutes to confine and shame sex offenders. This paper shows these laws to be based on popular beliefs about the predatory nature of these men, the probability of their re-offense and their amenability to treatment rather than the facts about the sex offenses and offenders. The severe reaction to sexual offenders is a vindictive one based on myth and misunderstanding that serves many interests. The paper exposes the contradictory myths and skewed emotions that guide our view of sex crimes and compares these with the facts about re-offense rates and the effects of treatment.
Examination of societal reaction to sexual offenders reveals a history of harshness exemplified by the sexual psychopath laws of the 1930s. The latest round of legal attempts to control sex offenders uses Severe sentencing laws, civil commitment procedures and community notification statutes to confine and shame sex offenders. This paper shows these laws to be based on popular beliefs about the predatory nature of these men, the probability of their re-offense and their amenability to treatment rather than the facts about the sex offenses and offenders. The severe reaction to sexual offenders is a vindictive one based on myth and misunderstanding that serves many interests. The paper exposes the contradictory myths and skewed emotions that guide our view of sex crimes and compares these with the facts about re-offense rates and the effects of treatment.
Legal and Criminological Psychology, 2009
Purpose. This study investigated the influence of psychopathya nd sex offender subtype on criminal history, probability of being granted conditional release,a nd performance while on conditional release in ad iverse group of violent offenders. We predicted that psychopathic sexual offenders would be associated with relatively prolific violent and sexual offending, ahigh probability of successful conditional release applications despite their past behaviour (resulting from 'putting on agood show' in a parole hearing), and poor performance in the community. Methods. Information was gatheredv ia ac orrectional file review of 310 Canadian male federal offenders. Offenders werecategorized into groups based on their sexual offence history(non-sex offender,rapist, child molester,ormixed rapist/molester) and PsychopathyC hecklist-R evised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) ratings. Their offences (sexual, violent, or non-violent) and their complete conditional release histories werecoded. Results. Psychopathyw as associated with more violent and non-violent, but not sexual, offences. As ignificant interaction between psychopathya nd offender subtype revealed that psychopathywas associated with agreater number of sex offences within child molesters. High-psychopathyo ffenders (both sexual and non-sexual offenders) werea bout 2.5 times more likely to be granted conditional release than nonpsychopathic offenders. Conclusions. Psychopathyi sa ssociated with more prolific sexual offending among child molesters and-despite their extensivecriminal histories and high recidivism rate-agreat proficiency in persuading parole boards to release them into the community. Specialized education and training in dealing with psychopathic offenders is urgently needed. Psychopathy is one of the most powerful predictorso fb oth violent and non-violent criminal recidivism (see Douglas, Vincent, &Edens,2006; Hare &Neumann, 2008, for reviews). Offenderswith psychopathic featurescommit more crimes,commit agreater variety of crimes, and are more violent during the commission of their crimes (e.g.
Psychology, Crime & Law, 2014
The Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale is an 18-item selfreport questionnaire designed to measure respondents' attitudes toward sex offenders. Its original factor structure has been questioned by a number of previous studies, and so this paper sought to reimagine the scale as an outcome measure, as opposed to a scale of attitudes. A face validity analysis produced a provisional three-factor structure underlying the CATSO: 'punitiveness,' 'stereotype endorsement,' and 'risk perception.' A sample of 400 British members of the public completed a modified version of the CATSO, the Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders scale, the General Punitiveness Scale, and the Rational-Experiential Inventory. A three-factor structure of a 22-item modified CATSO was supported using half of the sample, with factors being labeled 'sentencing and management,' 'stereotype endorsement,' and 'risk perception.' Confirmatory factor analysis on data from the other half of the sample endorsed the three-factor structure; however, two items were removed in order to improve ratings of model fit. This new 20-item 'Perceptions of Sex Offenders scale' has practical utility beyond the measurement of attitudes, and suggestions for its future use are provided.
Archives of sexual behavior, 2015
In the present research, we addressed the question of whether people harbor punitive attitudes against individuals sexually interested in children even if no sexual offense is mentioned and whether this effect is amplified by the clinical label pedophilia. In two online studies (total N = 345), participants rated the extent to which they saw individuals sexually interested in children as necessarily committing child sexual abuse (dangerousness), responsible for their sexual interest (intentionality), and clinically disordered (deviance) before judging their endorsement of means of punishment (punitive attitudes). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in which either the "pedophilia" label or the descriptive term "sexual interest in (prepubescent) children" was included in all items. Across both studies, results showed high degrees of punitive attitudes against sexually deviant men, an effect that was particularly pronounced if the pedophili...
2020
Literature pertaining to individuals with sexual convictions typically reports punitive views about their crimes, sentences, and overall effectiveness of rehabilitation, with such perceptions partially driven by offense demographics such as victim age and perpetrator sex. This manuscript extends this literature through the exploration of perceiver characteristics of self-reported traditionalism and education in forensic psychology as mechanisms of perceptions and awareness. Participants (N=101; 60% forensic psychology students; 40% general public) read online vignettes related to sexual offences (manipulating perpetrator sex and victim age), and completed measures of perceptions of sex offenders, perceived rehabilitation efficacy and traditionalism. Members of the general population (without a background of education in forensic psychology) reported harsher views towards individuals with sexual convictions and their rehabilitation, relative to students of forensic psychology, indepe...
Cognition and psychopathy in incarcerated sexual offenders
Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas)
Objective: The objective was to investigate if perpetrators of sexual offenses against children and adolescents with and without psychopathy differ regarding cognitive aspects. Method: A total of 30 male inmates participated in the study, divided into two groups: one that included psychopaths and the other with non-psychopaths. The instruments used were: protocol for collecting information on criminal court records; Rorschach test according to the Performance Assessment System, considering the cognitive variables and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised Scale. Results: The results indicate that psychopaths exhibit greater impairment in the organization of thoughts, as well as greater vulnerability to the general personality disruption. The best regression model showed that 55% of psychopathy can be explained by a greater propensity to a general personality disorder (EII-3 β: 4.77; p-value < 0.001), associated with the predisposition to be arrested at a young age (β: -0.26; p-value =...