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Attitudes Toward the Treatment of Sex Offenders: A SEM Analysis

Evidence suggests that public attitudes toward sex offenders are often complex, which is partly due to the lack of sophisticated measures that capture different dimensions of individual attitudes. This article examined public attitudes toward sex offenders and their specific attitudes toward sex offender treatment using 2 validated attitudinal scales among a group of 316 psychology students at a southern public university. Structural equation modeling (SEM) method was used to test the relation between the general attitude and treatment specific attitude. Findings indicated an acceptable model fit with the data (e.g., CFI = .95, SRMR = .07, and RMSEA = .06). Attitudes toward sex offenders and the level of concern for victims are significantly related to individual attitudes toward the treatment of sex offenders. Females were found to hold less negative attitudes toward sex offenders than males. The implications of the findings in relation to policy and program development are discussed.