Individual determinants of punitive attitudes towards sexual and domestic abuse offenders

Palace, M and Shortland, N (2016) Individual determinants of punitive attitudes towards sexual and domestic abuse offenders. Safer Communities, 15 (3). pp. 125-133. ISSN 1757-8043

Preview

Text Individual determinants of punitive attitudes towards sexual and domestic abuse offenders.pdf - Accepted Version Download (661kB) | Preview

Abstract

Purpose –individual factors predicting punitive attitudes toward sexual and domestic offences and offenders have received little attention, which this paper aims to address.
Design/methodology/approach - in Study 1, 137 participants completed a 25-item online questionnaire exploring individual factors hypothesised to predict punitive attitudes towards four sexual crimes: rape, paedophilia, incest and bestiality. In Study 2, 100 participants completed a similar questionnaire exploring individual factors hypothesized to predict punitive attitudes towards male and female emotional, physical and sexual abusers.
Findings - the standard multiple regression models of Study 1 found that Age (i.e., being older), Belief in a Just World and Gender (i.e., being female) were predictors of harsher punitive attitudes. The models of Study 2 found that the low score on the Social Dominance scale was the most common predictor.
Research limitations - this survey-based project presents a nuanced picture that could be complemented by the inclusion of a wider range of more complex factors and follow-on qualitative studies.
Practical implications – the key message from this study is to inform the public on the role of personality factors in developing punitive attitudes.
Social implications – it is vital to increase the legislators’ and the people’ awareness of the factors shaping the public impressions of criminal justice processes and evidence-based treatment effectiveness.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Natural Sciences and Psychology (closed 31 Aug 19)
Publisher:	Emerald
Date of acceptance:	18 May 2016
Date of first compliant Open Access:	31 May 2018
Date Deposited:	31 May 2018 11:19
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2024 12:00
DOI or ID number:	10.1108/SC-03-2016-0007
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/8748

View Item