An Examination of Counseling Professionals/Paraprofessionals Attitudes Toward Adolescent Sexual Offenders

Jones, Edward C.

doi:10.1177/2158244013501330

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Public samples have been found to score higher on the CATSO than professional populations (Malinen et al, 2014;Shackley et al, 2013), with other factors influencing scores being experience of working with sex offenders (experience is correlated with lower scores; Jones, 2013) and educational attainment (lower educational attainment is correlated with higher scores; Malinen et al, 2014). These findings corroborate previous research into attitudes toward sex offenders using different measures (e.g.…”

Section: Previous Uses Of the Catsosupporting

confidence: 82%

“…The CATSO has been utilized as either a dependent or control measure in a number of studies since its inception, with scores being similar (~50) across a range of samples, including counselors working with sexually abusive adolescents (Jones, 2013), criminology undergraduates (Marteache, 2012), and a cohort of the Australian public (Shackley et al, 2013). Public samples have been found to score higher on the CATSO than professional populations (Malinen et al, 2014;Shackley et al, 2013), with other factors influencing scores being experience of working with sex offenders (experience is correlated with lower scores; Jones, 2013) and educational attainment (lower educational attainment is correlated with higher scores; Malinen et al, 2014).…”

Section: Previous Uses Of the Catsomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring public perceptions of sex offenders: reimagining the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale

Harper

Hogue

2014

Psychology, Crime & Law

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The Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale is an 18-item self-report 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

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Section: Previous Uses Of the Catsosupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Previous Uses Of the Catsomentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring public perceptions of sex offenders: reimagining the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale

Harper

Hogue

2014

Psychology, Crime & Law

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“…score that can range from 18-108 (higher scores indicate more negative views about sexual offenders). In a range of studies, the CATSO has demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency (α = 0.74; Church et al, 2008;Conley, Hill, Church, Stoeckel, & Allen, 2011;Jones, 2013;Malinen, Willis, & Johnston, 2014;Shackley, Weiner, Day, & Willis, 2014;Shelton, Stone, & Winder, 2013). Church et al's (2008) initial factor analyses of the CATSO data identified an underlying four-factor structure, with these factors being labeled 'Social Isolation', 'Capacity to Change', 'Dangerousness', and 'Deviancy'.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes towards sexual offenders: What do we know, and why are they important?

Harper

Hogue

Bartels

2017

Aggression and Violent Behavior

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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.

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“…Scores for each of the items are summed to provide a composite CATSO score that can range from 18-108 (higher scores indicate more negative views about sexual offenders). In a range of studies, the CATSO has demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency (α > 0.70; Church et al, 2008;Conley, Hill, Church, Stoeckel, & Allen, 2011;Jones, 2013;Malinen, Willis, & Johnston, 2014;Shackley, Weiner, Day, & Willis, 2014;Shelton, Stone, & Winder, 2013). Church et al's (2008) initial factor analyses of the CATSO data identified a four-factor structure underpinning the scale, with these being labeled 'Social Isolation', 'Capacity to Change', 'Dangerousness', and 'Deviancy'.…”

Section: Current Approaches To Measuring Attitudes To Sexual Offendersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a 21-item short form of the Attitudes to Sexual Offenders (ATS) Scale.

Hogue¹,

Harper²

2019

Law and Human Behavior

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The Attitudes to Sexual Offenders scale (ATS; Hogue, 1993) is one of the most widely-used measurement instruments for assessing views about sexual offenders. The ATS has been used in a variety of contexts, most commonly in comparing forensic professionals and non-professionals in relation to their views about this population. This paper offers a review of the methods used to examine attitudes toward sexual offenders currently available, before systematically outlining the validation of a 21-item shortened version of the ATS measure (the 'ATS-21'). First, we analyzed the ATS with regards to its underlying factor structure using a general community sample (Study 1; n = 188). This identified three factors: 'Trust', 'Intent', and 'Social Distance'. We subsequently supported this structure through confirmatory factor analysis in a new community sample (Study 2; n = 335) and Hogue's (1993) original ATS development data (Study 3; n = 170) in order to provide further evidence of its reliability. We also offer preliminary evidence of the ATS-21's test-retest reliability, consistency across multiple testing contexts, resistance to social desirability, and independence from related measures (Study 4; n = 59). We close by recommending the use of the ATS-21 for researchers examining attitudes toward sexual offenders and offer suggestions for a new unified research design to incorporate the ATS-21 into emerging research into the psychological underpinnings of attitudes and responses to sexual offenders.

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An Examination of Counseling Professionals/Paraprofessionals Attitudes Toward Adolescent Sexual Offenders

Cited by 12 publications

References 44 publications

Measuring public perceptions of sex offenders: reimagining the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale

Measuring public perceptions of sex offenders: reimagining the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale

Attitudes towards sexual offenders: What do we know, and why are they important?

Development of a 21-item short form of the Attitudes to Sexual Offenders (ATS) Scale.

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