Dissertation
Public opinion on the appropriateness of juvenile sex offender registration and notification requirements
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Mar 2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000561
Abstract
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) was drafted with the intent to protect communities from dangerous perpetrators, but public perceptions of the appropriateness and value of juvenile sex offender registries may be more nuanced. This research explored public perceptions of juvenile sex offender registration and notification laws across the United States and the conditions under which the public (N = 1,384) believes youth who commit sex offenses should be registered as sex offenders, including the severity of the offense and the characteristics of the offending individual (i.e., age and sex). A between-subjects analysis of variance and parallel mediation analysis, conducted using SPSS and Hayes's PROCESS macro v3.5, uncovered no interactions but did reveal that the acceptability of registering the youth as a sex offender differed significantly by age of the offending youth, sex of the offending youth, and the severity of the crime. Results of the parallel mediation indicated that the perception that registering the offending youth as a sex offender keeps the community safer significantly mediated the relationship between age of the offending youth, sex of the offending youth, and offense severity, and the acceptability of registering the youth a sex offender. Additionally fear of the offending youth significantly mediated the relationship between sex of the offending youth and offense severity, and the acceptability of registering the youth a sex offender. Overall findings suggest the public may not generally agree with registering youth who commit sex offenses. Future directions and policy and practice considerations regarding the registration of youth who commit sex offenses are discussed.
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Details
- Title
- Public opinion on the appropriateness of juvenile sex offender registration and notification requirements
- Creators
- Jennica M. Janssen
- Contributors
- Naomi E. Goldstein (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- viii, 55 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991014961649404721