Comparing perceptions of individuals who sexually offend against children versus adults.

Abstract

Objective: We examined how the age of the victim influences the public's risk assessment and punishment attitudes for individuals who have sexually offended and whether actuarial feedback influences these ratings. Hypotheses: (1) Risk ratings for child victim vignettes would be higher than ratings for adult victim vignettes. This effect would be driven by higher ratings for lower risk individuals. (2) Because of the increased stigma associated with individuals with child victim sexual abuse convictions, participants who rated this subgroup would be less likely than those who rated adult victim vignettes to revise their initial risk ratings. (3) Dispositional placements for the individuals in vignettes with child victims would be more punitive than for those with adult victims, both before and after feedback. Method: Participants (N = 389, 18-77 years, 51.7% male, 73.0% White) read five vignettes of individuals incarcerated for a sexual offense at five different risk levels and with either child or adult victims. They made judgments about recidivism risk and postprison dispositions and then received actuarial feedback and made the ratings again. Results: Risk ratings for child victim vignettes were higher than ratings for adult victim vignettes, particularly for cases of average risk and below (η 2 p = .17). Participants were equally likely to revise initial risk ratings for child and adult victim vignettes (η 2 p = .01). Dispositional placements for child victim vignettes were significantly more punitive than for adult victim vignettes both before and after feedback, especially for the lower risk individuals (η 2 p = .07). Conclusions: Although judgments of risk and disposition toward individuals who sexually offend can be adjusted regardless of victim type, there is a more severe bias against individuals with child victims. Public Significance StatementIndividuals who sexually offend attract widespread public stigma, especially when their victims are children. Policies for their disposition and management often lack nuance and can fail to differentiate for a wide range of recidivism risk levels. This study indicated that the public can understand actuarial risk assessment measures for individuals who commit sex offenses and demonstrated the additional bias toward individuals who sexually offended against children. If public attitudes can be modified to better represent the reality of the variation in the population of individuals released from prison for sexual offending, policies can be more tailored to improve their effectiveness.