Law Commons^™

Knowledge Of Juvenile Sex Offender Registration Laws As A Predictor Of Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Margaret C. Stevenson, Tisha Ra Wiley

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Because juveniles can now be registered as sex offenders, we conducted a pilot study to investigate awareness of these policies and sexual behavior histories in a convenience sample of 53 young adults (ages 18 to 23, 79% women). These preliminary data revealed that 42% percent of participants were unaware that youth under the age of 18 can be registered as sex offenders, and when informed that they can be, participants were unaware of the breadth of adolescent sexual behavior that warrants registration. Furthermore, those unaware of juvenile registration policies, compared to those who were aware, were marginally more likely to …