The purpose of this study is to examine college students’ punitive attitudes toward five different types of sex offenders. In addition, various factors that influence college students’ punitive attitudes will be measured in order to assess their significance. Surveys were administered to a total of 809 students at a large southern university. Through the utilization of descriptive vignettes, the survey measured students’ demographic, educational, attitudinal, and crime-related characteristics as well as recommended sanction and punishment preferences for five different sex offenders. The results suggest that college students’ punitive attitudes significantly differ based on sex offender characteristics. Through ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, significant effects of various factors on punitive attitudes were found for each type of sex offender.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study is to examine college students’ punitive attitudes toward five different types of sex offenders. In addition, various factors that influence college students’ punitive attitudes will be measured in order to assess their significance. Surveys were administered to a total of 809 students at a large southern university. Through the utilization of descriptive vignettes, the survey measured students’ demographic, educational, attitudinal, and crime-related characteristics as well as recommended sanction and punishment preferences for five different sex offenders. The results suggest that college students’ punitive attitudes significantly differ based on sex offender characteristics. Through ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, significant effects of various factors on punitive attitudes were found for each type of sex offender.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Smith, Kathryn T."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Criminal Justice","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Tanja Link","Dr. Jennifer McMahon-Howard","Dr. Christopher Totten"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:42:53Z","subjects":["attitudes toward crime","criminal offenders","public attitudes","college students","sexual crimes","punitive punishment","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/571","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Tanja Link","Dr. Jennifer McMahon-Howard","Dr. Christopher Totten"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Smith, Kathryn T."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-06-10T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Criminal Justice"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["attitudes toward crime","criminal offenders","public attitudes","college students","sexual crimes","punitive punishment","Criminology and Criminal Justice"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/571"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study is to examine college students’ punitive attitudes toward five different types of sex offenders. In addition, various factors that influence college students’ punitive attitudes will be measured in order to assess their significance. Surveys were administered to a total of 809 students at a large southern university. Through the utilization of descriptive vignettes, the survey measured students’ demographic, educational, attitudinal, and crime-related characteristics as well as recommended sanction and punishment preferences for five different sex offenders. The results suggest that college students’ punitive attitudes significantly differ based on sex offender characteristics. Through ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, significant effects of various factors on punitive attitudes were found for each type of sex offender.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["College Students’ Punitive Attitudes toward Five Types of Sex Offenders: Examining Factors that Influence Punitive Preferences"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Tanja Link","Dr. Jennifer McMahon-Howard","Dr. Christopher Totten"],"dc:creator":["Smith, Kathryn T."],"dc:date.available":["2013-06-10T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study is to examine college students’ punitive attitudes toward five different types of sex offenders. In addition, various factors that influence college students’ punitive attitudes will be measured in order to assess their significance. Surveys were administered to a total of 809 students at a large southern university. Through the utilization of descriptive vignettes, the survey measured students’ demographic, educational, attitudinal, and crime-related characteristics as well as recommended sanction and punishment preferences for five different sex offenders. The results suggest that college students’ punitive attitudes significantly differ based on sex offender characteristics. Through ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, significant effects of various factors on punitive attitudes were found for each type of sex offender.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/571"],"dc:subject":["attitudes toward crime","criminal offenders","public attitudes","college students","sexual crimes","punitive punishment","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"dc:title":["College Students’ Punitive Attitudes toward Five Types of Sex Offenders: Examining Factors that Influence Punitive Preferences"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Criminal Justice"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:42:53Z"}