Citation

Snape N, Fido D. J. Concurr. Disord. 2022; 4(3): 93-108.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, CDS Press)

DOI

10.54127/WASD7451

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Recent statistics outlined within the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 773,000 adults were victims of sexual assault between 2019 and 2020. Owing to such prevalence, research into perpetrators of sexual offences and how they are perceived within the general population is vital. The present study explored whether the label assigned to said perpetrators ('sex offenders' or 'persons with sexual offences') would alter public perceptions of this offender group, whilst controlling for participant age and enjoyment of sadomasochistic sexual acts. Moreover, the personality traits of openness and neuroticism were modelled as potential moderating factors. A total of 186 participants completed an online questionnaire containing measures for perceptions of sexual offenders, engagement in sadomasochistic sexual activities, openness and neuroticism, prior to data being analysed through correlation and moderation analyses. Of interest, the label assigned to people with sexual offences had no significant relationship with public perceptions. Moreover, neither enjoyment of sexual sadomasochism nor participant age were significantly related to perception data, and neither openness nor neuroticism moderated said relationships. Therefore, it was concluded that public perceptions of people with sexual offences might be more deeply rooted in society than was originally thought, indicating that the key to improving public perceptions of sexual offenders, and therefore improving their chances of reintegration into society, lies in educating the public in order to reduce the misconceptions surrounding the dangers posed by those who have committed sexual offences.

Language: en