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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Legal Studies

Student Theses

Sex offenders

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Exploring Criminal Thinking Patterns And Cognitions In High Risk Sexually And Non-Sexually Violent Offenders, Ruby L. Orth May 2022

Exploring Criminal Thinking Patterns And Cognitions In High Risk Sexually And Non-Sexually Violent Offenders, Ruby L. Orth

Student Theses

The current understanding of shared offense supporting attitudes between different offender types is limited. This study compares criminal thinking styles and rape supportive attitudes between high-risk offenders who have engaged in either sexual or violent behavior. A sample of 237 incarcerated male high risk sexually violent and non-sexually violent offenders participated in a study where they completed a series of self-report questionnaires including the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) (Walters, 1995) and Bumby’s (1996) MOLEST and RAPE scales. Significant differences in criminal thinking between offender types was hypothesized. Significant overlap of rape supporting cognitive distortions, regardless of offender …


Does Mental Illness Affect Societal Perception Of Sex Offenders?, Keely A. Bartram Jun 2018

Does Mental Illness Affect Societal Perception Of Sex Offenders?, Keely A. Bartram

Student Theses

Although mental illness is common in the sex offender population, it has never been examined how evidence of such may influence societal perception. In comparison to the non-sex offender population, it was hypothesized that participants would consider mental illness less mitigating for sex offenders, would be less likely to support the mental health treatment of sex offenders while incarcerated, and would consider certain mental illnesses (schizophrenia and substance abuse disorders) as particularly aggravating for this group of offenders. Respondents were asked to read a short vignette and then respond to a series of questions about culpability, sentencing decisions, and mental …


Risk And Prevalence Of Personality Disorders In Sexual Offenders, Allison Sigler Jun 2017

Risk And Prevalence Of Personality Disorders In Sexual Offenders, Allison Sigler

Student Theses

Studies suggest that about seventy percent of incarcerated sexual offenders have been diagnosed with a mental disorder, with about fifty percent meeting diagnostic criteria for a personality disorder. Personality disorders have been shown to increase the risk of recidivism in offenders overall. However, little is known about how a personality disorder diagnosis increases this risk for sex offenders. The current study aims to evaluate the prevalence of personality disorders in sexual offenders, whether this varies by offender type, and how these relate to recidivism risk. Archival records from a large sample of convicted sex offenders who were incarcerated in a …