The Influence of a Juvenile's Abuse History on Support for Sex Offender Registration.

Margaret C Stevenson,Jessica M Salerno,Bette L Bottoms,Katlyn S Farnum,Tisha R A Wiley,Cynthia J Najdowski

doi:10.1037/law0000028

Abstract

We investigated whether and how a juvenile’s history of experiencing sexual abuse affects public perceptions of juvenile sex offenders in a series of 5 studies. When asked about juvenile sex offenders in an abstract manner (Studies 1 and 2), the more participants (community members and undergraduates) believed that a history of being sexually abused as a child causes later sexually abusive behavior, the less likely they were to support sex offender registration for juveniles. Yet when participants considered specific sexual offenses, a juvenile’s history of sexual abuse was not considered to be a mitigating factor. This was true when participants considered a severe sexual offense (forced rape; Study 3 and Study 4) and a case involving less severe sexual offenses (i.e., statutory rape), when a juvenile’s history of sexual abuse backfired and was used as an aggravating factor, increasing support for registering the offender (Study 3 and Study 5). Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Highlights

We investigated whether and how a juvenile’s history of experiencing sexual abuse affects public perceptions of juvenile sex offenders in a series of 5 studies
Salerno, Najdowski, and colleagues (2010) found that people support sex offender registry laws for both adults and juveniles when they are asked about sex offenders in general, and that when asked to imagine a typical sex offender or offense, most people naturally envision sex offenders who commit the most heinous sex offenses such as rape and child sexual abuse
Results of Study 3 are consistent with past research showing that public support for sex offender registration varies depending on whether individuals are asked about juveniles in general or about specific juveniles accused of different crimes ranging in severity (Salerno, Najdowski et al, 2010; Salerno, Stevenson et al, 2010)

Summary

Introduction

We investigated whether and how a juvenile’s history of experiencing sexual abuse affects public perceptions of juvenile sex offenders in a series of 5 studies. § 16911), who differ in important ways from adult offenders (for reviews, see Chaffin, 2008; Trivits & Reppucci, 2002) These laws are presumed to protect society, but there is little evidence that they are effective at decreasing sex offender recidivism (Adkins, Huff, & Stageberg, 2000; Caldwell & Dickinson, 2009; Letourneau & Armstrong, 2008; Sandler, Freeman, & Socia, 2008; Schram & Milloy, 1995). Support for juvenile sex offender registration is influenced by a variety of factors, including the education level of the individual (Stevenson, Smith, Sekely, & Farnum, 2013) and the race (Stevenson, Sorenson, Smith, Sekely, & Dzwairo, 2009) and sexual orientation (Salerno, Murphy, & Bottoms, 2014) of the offender and victim

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