University Students Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Sexual Offenders

Sam Trumpower

Seton Hill University

SPY 402 01: Research and Application in Psychology

Dr. Jacobs

December 6, 2021
 Abstract

Attitudes towards sexual offenders (ATSO) and perceptions of sexual offenders (PSO) were

measured from participants on a Likert scale, using two existing scales: the Attitude Towards

Sexual Offenders shortened 21 item scale (ATS-21) and the PSO scale. These were hypothesized

to be negatively related to social dominance orientation (SDO) and patriarchal beliefs (PAB).

SDO and PAB were also measured from existing Likert scales: the SDO scale and the Patriarchal

Beliefs Scale (PBS). The ATS-21, PSO scale, and PBS all consisted of three components that

were all measured separately with one another, along with SDO. Results indicated that ATSOs

were partially negatively related with SDO and PAB, based on only several components being

statistically significant. Furthermore, results indicated that PSOs were partially positively related

with SDO and PAB, as only some components were statistically significant.

Keywords: attitudes, perceptions, sexual offenders, social dominance orientation,

patriarchal beliefs
 University Students Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Sexual Offenders

When it comes to criminality, people in the general public oftentimes hold strong

opinions. Hypothetical situations become a topic of discussion in which people weigh in from

one side or another, e.g., the poor man who steals bread for his family: is he in the wrong

because he stole, despite stealing to allow his family to continue to live? Almost all crimes are

looked at in that way, in a sense. However, there is one common exception to that thinking, in

terms of criminal behavior: sexual offenses. Sexual offenders may be the most hated and

unforgiveable criminal population, especially when it comes to sexual offenses targeting

children. This hatred and fear of sexual offenders stems from multiple misinformation sources,

creating a multitude of misinformation putting more lives at risk. In fact, Dr. Anna Salter, a

clinical psychologist who has studied sexual offenders for over 30 years, states that this lack of

understanding is what puts most people at risk. Without realizing, not only do people enjoy the

company of sexual offenders, they unknowingly invite them in (Salter, 2003). Oftentimes the

sexual offender parents fear the most is the man in a white van stalking their children, waiting for

the right moment to quickly steal away the child. According to Salter, that is not whom to fear,

rather fear the people who are constantly in your life. She recounts the case study of a particular

sexual offender who claimed to have over 1,000 child victims. Specifically, he recounted to her

that he raped and molested his nephew for nine years, in which there was rarely a case in which

his nephew’s parents were not home (Salter, 2003). Fear allows misinformation to spread

causing more victimizations rather than allowing for prevention.

This common spread of misinformation, regarding what could be one of the most

dangerous criminal populations, and the information provided by Salter in her book Predators

(2003) led to the question of how college students view sexual offenders. More specifically, how
the attitudes towards (ATSO) and perceptions of sexual offenders (PSO) from the view of

college students is influenced by their patriarchal beliefs (PAB) and social dominance orientation

(SDO). To measure the PAB of participants, the Patriarchal Beliefs Scale (PBS) was used. The

PBS was developed by Yoon, Adams, Hogge, Bruner, Surya, and Bryant (2015). The researchers

developed this scale for a way to “conceptually and psychometrically” measure for PAB in

participants (Yoon et al., 2015). The researchers conducted a multi-stage study to create a

reliable and internally consistent scale. The results of their study produced the PBS which proved

to be valid and internally consistent overall and across the factor scores.

When measuring the SDO of participants, the SDO scale was utilized. This scale, used in

a study by Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, and Malle (1994), based on social dominance theory, is

used to study the relationship between an individual’s orientation towards people in a general

sense, and an individual’s orientation toward out-groups. The study done by Pratto et al., was

done to measure the validity of the SDO scale. Results found that not only did higher status

groups have a mindset of in-group servicing, but these individuals were also more discriminatory

against out-group and lower status groups. Pratto et al., in-turn found that those in lower-status

groups tended to have a lower chance of in-group servicing (1994).

To quantify participants ATSO the ATS-21 scale was used. The ATS-21 scale was

developed by Hogue and Harper (2019) to create a more reliable scale when it comes to attitudes

surrounding sexual offenders. Pervious scales such as the Community Attitudes Toward Sex

Offenders (CATSO) scale and the original ATS both had issues. According to Hogue and Harper

the CATSO scale lacks any sort of structural consistency in that multiple replications of this

scale have been inconclusive on the results it produces. The researchers also state that in view of

that fact that the CATSO measures knowledge-based attributions of participants in concerns of
sexual offenders. When taking this fact into consideration, this scale arguably measures

perceptions rather than attitudes, according to Hogue and Harper. The original ATS scale yields

similar issues in that it did not go through validation testing, creating errors in the scoring

process (Hogue & Harper, 2019). To account for the fact that there was not a reliable scale when

it comes to measuring attitudes regarding sexual offenders, Hogue and Harper performed a

multi-stage study to develop the ATS-21, a shortened version of the original. Final results of

their study provided a scale that is “revised, reliable, and theoretically valid” when measuring

ATSO using a tripartite approach (Hogue & Harper, 2019).

To quantify the perceptions that the participants hold about sexual offenders, the PSO

scale was used, which was also developed by Harper and Hogue (2014). The researchers also

discuss in this paper the validity issues regarding the CATSO. As discussed, the CATSO

measures perceptions, rather than attitudes as the name suggests. Harper and Hogue argue that

the CATSO studies perceptions, because the scale measures knowledgeable judgments of sexual

offenders rather than affective evaluations made by the participants (2014). Harper and Hogue’s

research and development of the PSO scale was to validate that CATSO and to define a clear

distinction between perceptions and attitudes. This study produced the PSO scale with high

internal consistency. The PSO scale not only measures these perceptions based on sentencing

and management, stereotype endorsement, and risk perceptions, but it gives researchers an

understanding of who the participants believe sexual offenders are and how participants believe

sexual offenders should be dealt with post-conviction. Harper and Hogue state that while overall

the scale is very reliable and has high internal consistency, the factor of stereotype endorsement

had a lower internal consistency compared to the other two measurable factors (2014).
 This information from the articles discussed and the literature review allowed for the

development of two hypotheses to develop the present study. Hypothesis one states that the

attitudes and perceptions held by the participants towards sexual offenders is directly correlated

with social dominance; specifically, a high social dominance orientation score will show a

negative attitude and perception towards sexual offenders. Hypothesis two states that the

attitudes and perceptions held by the participants towards sexual offenders will be different

between those who do and those who do not hold patriarchal beliefs; those who have a higher

score of patriarchal beliefs will have a negative attitude and perception of sexual offenders.

Method

Participants

Participants were 107 undergraduate students at a small, Catholic liberal arts university.

Of the participants, 62 (57.9%) were female, 31 (29%) were male, five (4.7%) identified as a

gender variant/non-conforming, and nine (8.4%) did not provide information about sex identity.

Participants also provided information concerning their race: three (2.8%) were Asian or Pacific

Islander, four (3.7%) were Black, three (2.8%) were Hispanic or Latinx, two (1.9%) were multi-

or bi-racial, 86 (80.4%) were white, and nine (8.4%) did not provide informational about racial

identity. Participants were asked if they, or someone they knew, had an interaction with a non-

specific criminal offender. 60 (56.1%) answered yes, 34 (31.8%) answered no, four (3.7%)

preferred not to answer, and nine (8.4%) did not provide an answer, (M = 1.42, SD = .57).

Measures

Patriarchal Beliefs.

The Patriarchal Beliefs Scale (PBS) was developed to measure the patriarchal beliefs

(PAB) of participants which was sampled from U.S. American adults from differing
backgrounds and geographical locations (Yoon, Adams, Hogge, Bruner, Surya, & Bryant, 2015).

The participants will read and respond in a Likert scoring system. The scoring system is a Likert

point scale, one being strongly disagree, two being disagree, three being slightly disagree, four

being neither agree nor disagree, five being slightly agree, six being agree, and seven being

strongly agree. The PBS has a factor structure of three different items. The 35-item scale

captures three components of patriarchal beliefs: (1) the institutional power of men; (2) the

inherent inferiority of women; (3) gendered domestic roles (Yoon et al., 2015). These responses

were averaged into an index of institutional power of men ( = .97), inherent inferiority of

women ( = .95), and gendered domestic roles ( = .95). No reverse scoring was required when

using the PBS.

Social Dominance Orientation.

The Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) scale measures a person’s degree of preference

for certain groups and preference for inequality among groups (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, &

Malle, 1994). The 16-item SDO scale measures the social dominance of participants. The

participants will read and respond in a Likert scoring system. The Likert point scale in the SDO

scale is scored in terms of how a participant feels about a statement given in a negative or

positive way: one being very negative, two being negative, three being slightly negative, four

being neither negative nor positive, five being slightly positive, six being positive, and seven

being very positive. The 16-item SDO scale required reverse scoring which was done when

required, prior to indexing. The responses of social dominance orientation were averaged (

= .95).

Attitudes Towards Sexual Offenders.

 The Attitudes Towards Sexual Offenders (ATSO) scale is used in assessing attitudes

about sexual offenders (Hogue & Harper, 2018). The ATS-21 scale is a 21-item scale that

assesses how participants view sexual offenders in terms of trust, social distance, and intent. The

participants will read and respond in a Likert scoring system in which one is strongly agree, two

is disagree, three is undecided, four is agree, and five is strongly agree. The ATS-21 scale has a

factor structure in which it measures three different items: trust, social distance, and intent

(Hogue & Harper, 2018). The ATS-21 scale required that certain items were reverse scored, this

was done so prior to indexing. These responses were averaged into an index of trust ( = .77),

social distance ( = .85), and intent ( = .85).

Perceptions of Sexual Offenders.

The Perceptions of Sexual Offenders (PSO) scale is used in assessing the perceptions of

sexual offenders (Harper & Hogue, 2014). The PSO scale is a 20-item scale that assesses three

parts of perceptions of sexual offenders: sentencing and management, stereotype endorsement,

and risk perception. The participants will read and respond in a Likert scoring system. The

scoring point system is as follows: one is strongly disagree, two is disagree, three is probably

disagree, four is probably agree, five is agree, and six is strongly agree. The PSO scale had a

factor structure in which it measures three differing items: sentencing and management,

stereotype endorsement, and risk perception (Harper & Hogue, 2014). The PSO scale required

that certain items were reverse scored, this was done so prior to indexing. The responses were

averaged into an index of sentencing and management ( = .91), stereotype endorsement (

= .8), and risk perception ( = .62).

Procedure
 Participants were sent a survey via email, with an anonymous link through the program

Qualtrics. Through Qualtrics, participants were briefed on the reason for the study and read the

consent form. Participants were then asked if they were willing to take part in the survey. If they

answered yes, which all participants did, they were then able to fill out the survey. In the survey

participants were first asked to answer questions on a Likert scale about their PAB, using the

questions from the PBS. The second section of the survey asked participants to answer questions

on a Likert scale about their SDO, using the SDO scale. This was to ensure that participants

answered were not biased after answering questions about sexual offenders to get a more

accurate understanding of their PAB and SDO. After answering questions on these two scales

participants were then moved to the next section, which assessed a participant’s ATSO on a

Likert scale, using the ATS-21. Finally, participants were asked to answer questions on a Likert

scale about their PSO, using the PSO scale.

Results

Analysis was done on how the participant’s Attitudes Towards Sexual Offenders (ATSO)

was correlated with their Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) in terms of hypothesis one. The

results suggest that the first part of hypothesis one, relating to ATSO and SDO, was partially

supported. Specifically, of the three components of ATSO, only social distance was negatively

related to SDO as was hypothesized, r(79) = -.25, p = .028. This result suggests that the higher

the participants scored on the SDO scale, the greater social distance they perceived between

themselves and sexual offenders (See Figure 1). It also allows for the rejection of the null

hypothesis. The results for the relationships between the ATSO components of trust and intent

with SDO were not statistically significant, accepting the null hypothesis (all ps > .05).
 Continuing in the discussion of hypothesis one, analysis was done on the participants

Perceptions of Sexual Offenders (PSO) and how those components were related to SDO. The

results suggest that, contrary to the predictions in the hypothesis, there were no significant

negative relationships between SDO and the way that participants perceived sexual offenders. In

fact, the relationship between SDO and thoughts about sentencing and management of sexual

offenders resulted in a positive relationship, r(81) = .49, p < .001. This result suggests that the

higher a participant scored on the SDO scale, the more they desired stricter sentencing and

management of sexual offenders (See Figure 2), allowing for the rejection of the null hypothesis.

Neither stereotype endorsement nor risk perception were significantly related to SDO (all ps

> .05), which causes for the acceptance of the null hypothesis.

Analysis was done on how the participant’s ATSO was correlated with their Patriarchal

Beliefs (PAB) in relation to hypothesis two. The first part of hypothesis two was dropped due to

misconceptions of the measure, which is more thoroughly looked at in the discussion section.

Therefore, the second part of hypothesis two will be analyzed. In terms of ATSO and PAB,

hypothesis two was barely supported. As discussed earlier, ATSO has three components, trust,

social distance, and intent; PAB also has three components, institutional power of men, inherent

inferiority of women, and gendered domestic roles. The trust and social distance components of

ATSO were not significantly related to the PAB components (all ps > .05), accepting the null

hypothesis for these components. However, the component of intent was negatively related to the

PAB components of institutional power of men, r(80) = -.33, p = .002, and gendered domestic

roles, r(78) = -.33, p = .003, allowing for the rejection of the null hypothesis. These first results

suggest that when participants do not believe in the institutional power of men, their attitude of

sexual offenders shows they believe sexual offenders have a higher intent to offend (See Figure
3). The second results suggests that when participants do not believe in gendered domestic roles,

participants believe sexual offenders have a higher intent to offend (See Figure 4). The third

component of PAB, inherent inferiority of women, was also not statistically related to the ATSO

component of intent (p > .05).

Continuing in the discussion of hypothesis two, the results for the relationship between

PSO and PAB will now be examined. Similar with hypothesis one, the results indicate that the

PSO, contrary to predictions, did not hold any significant negative correlations to PAB. In fact,

the PSO component of sentencing and management of sexual offenders and all three PAB

components were positively related: sentencing and management and institutional power of men,

r(86) = .94, p < .001; sentencing and management and the inherent inferiority of women, r(86)

= .7, p < .001; sentencing and management and gendered domestic roles, r(84) = .68, p < .001.

This shows that for each of these components can reject the null. The first result of the positive

relationship between sentencing and management and the institutional power of men suggests

that when participants believed in the institutional power of men, they also believed that sexual

offenders should be sentenced and managed under harsher terms (See Figure 5). The second

result of the positive relationship between sentencing and management and the inherent

inferiority of women suggests that when participants did not believe in the inherent inferiority of

women, they also believed that sexual offenders should not be sentenced and managed under

harsher terms (See Figure 6). The third result of the positive relationship between sentencing and

management and gendered domestic roles suggest that when participants did not believe in

gendered domestic roles, they also believed that sexual offenders should not be sentenced and

managed under harsher terms (See Figure 7). The rest of the components, excluding one, of PSO

and PAB were not significantly related to one another (all ps > .05), accepting the null
hypothesis. As mentioned, the PSO component of stereotype endorsement was significantly

related to the PAB component of the institutional power of men, r(73) = .28, p = .02. This

positively related result, also contrary to the hypothesis, suggests that when participants did not

believe in the institutional power of men, they did also did not endorse the stereotypes of sexual

offenders (See Figure 8).

Discussion

As this research project was the first for me, an undergraduate student, multiple mistakes

were made in terms of writing the hypotheses and understanding the scales that were utilized for

the study. First and foremost, the hypotheses for Attitudes Towards Sexual Offenders (ATSO)

and Perceptions of Sexual Offenders (PSO) should have been separated, not combined into two

hypotheses. Put simply, it was hypothesized in both hypotheses that the attitudes and perceptions

of participants would be negatively related to Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and

Patriarchal Beliefs (PAB). Results did indicate that in the significantly related components of

ATSO they were negatively related to SDO and PAB. In terms of hypothesis one, this was the

components of social distance (ATSO) and the participants SDO. This was expected because as

participants had a higher SDO the farther sexual offenders were from their lives.

In terms of hypothesis two, only the component of intent (ATSO) was related to two

components of PAB: institutional power of men and gendered domestic roles. This small partial

support indicated that participants had strong opinions about the intent of sexual offenders: when

participants did not believe in the institutional power of men their attitude was that sexual

offender’s intent was to offend. This result makes sense as many sexual offenders are men; as

participants had an inherent low trusting of men, their attitude towards the intent of sexual

offenders (a highly male population) was high. However, the significantly related components of
PSO were all positively related to SDO and PAB. In terms of hypothesis one, these components

were sentencing and management (PSO) and the participants SDO. Looking back on the mistake

in the hypothesis, this makes sense, because the higher the participants scored on SDO the

harsher punishments they wanted for sexual offenders, showing a positive relationship between

the two. As discussed in the literature review, this can be expected as those with a high SDO

view those in an out-group as inferior and less deserving of certain things. In terms of hypothesis

two, all the components of PAB were positively related to sentencing and management (PSO).

This suggests that the lower the participants overall PAB, the less restrictions they wanted for

sexual offenders in terms of the sentencing and management of this population. Again, making

sense as the lower one scores on the PAB scale the more accepting you are of other groups in

general (Yoon et al., 2015). Stereotype endorsement (PSO) and the institutional power of men

(PAB) were also positively related. Showing that as the more participants endorsed stereotypes

about sexual offenders, their desire for men in power was also higher. As the ATSO and PSO

scales were both measuring different ideas from participants, they should have been separated in

the hypotheses. While researchers Harper and Hogue (2014) state that the two scales should be

used with one another, because they are measuring items with different definitions, while there is

an advantage of utilizing both for one study, the hypotheses for both should be separated rather

than conjoined.

The differences between the ATSO and PSO scales simply comes from the fact that

attitudes and perceptions are two different items that are not measured the same way. This

misunderstanding on my part gave the misconception that they could be measured in the same

way. As discussed in the literature review briefly, attitudes are affective evaluations, whereas

perceptions are judgements based on knowledge (Harper & Hogue, 2014). Affective evaluations,
based on feelings rather than knowledge, of sexual offenders would arguably make sense to

hypothesize these components as being negatively related to SDO and PAB because there is a

clear understanding that there are many feelings regarding in the discussion of sexual offenders

that would make participants hold a disapproved view of these types of offenders, causing the

results to be negatively related. Knowledge based judgements, based on what the participant

knows about sexual offenders, in a sense could be argued to be hypothesized as being negatively

related to SDO and PAB for similar reasons as the affective evaluations, but also due to the high

misinformation surrounding sexual offenders. However, this population of college students, with

many being enrolled in criminal justice classes, may have had a correct and clear understanding

of who sexual offenders are and how they operate, resulting in low misconceptions of this type

of offender.

The other mistake that resulted in dropping part of hypothesis two came from a lack of

understanding how to properly write a hypothesis in terms of actually performing a study on my

part. This is referring to the issue in hypothesis two that states: attitudes and perceptions held by

the participants towards sexual offenders will be different between those who do and those who

do not hold patriarchal beliefs. While this part of the hypothesis can be researched, due to my

patriarchal beliefs measure not being categorical, it was not possible to test this part of the

hypothesis. To accurately perform this research, participants would need to be grouped based on

if they did or did not have patriarchal beliefs. What was researched in this study was an

individual difference measure of patriarchal beliefs. While the relationships between PAB and

the other scales were tests, I could not test for differences in ATSO/PSO due to the patriarchal

beliefs. While this hypothesis could have been tested, the mistake came from the lack of
experience in connecting reading existing research, creating a hypothesis, and developing my

own research.

In future research I believe that the ATS-21 scale and the PSO scale can be used in

conjuncture with one another, as the benefits of measuring participant attitudes of sexual

offenders and perceptions of sexual offenders can be beneficial. This is due to the fact that the

true knowledge a participant has regarding sexual offenders may be very different than the

emotionally developed opinions they have of this offender population. While these two scales

should be used with one another, the hypotheses for both should be separated. As discussed, the

confusion concerning positive versus negative correlation must be taken into consideration.

Something else to consider in the future is the multiple components that lie within each scale and

how that can affect hypothesis creation and testing. The ATS-21, PSO scale, and PBS all had

three individual components that needed to be analyzed and related with one another. These were

not considered when doing initial research and developing the hypotheses and survey. With those

changes in mind, replicating this study may result in different conclusions.

 References

Harper, C. A., & Hogue, T. E. (2014). Measuring public perceptions of sex offenders:

Reimagining the community attitudes toward sex offenders (CATSO) scale. Psychology,

Crime & Law, 21(5), 452–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2014.989170

Hogue, T. E., & Harper, C. A. (2019). Development of a 21-item short form of the attitudes to

sexual offenders (ATS) scale. Law and Human Behavior, 43(1), 117–130.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000308

Pratto, F., Sidanius, J., Stallworth, L. M., & Malle, B. F. (1994). Social dominance orientation: A

personality variable predicting social and political attitudes. Journal of Personality and

Social Psychology, 67(4), 741–763. DOI: 0022-3514/94/S3.00

Salter, A. C. (2003). Predators. Basic Books.

Yoon, E., Adams, K., Hogge, I., Bruner, J. P., Surya, S., & Bryant, F. B. (2015). Development

and validation of the patriarchal beliefs scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(2),

264–279. https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/cou0000056