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Kennesaw State University

College Students’ Punitive Attitudes toward Five Types of Sex Offenders: Examining Factors that Influence Punitive Preferences

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<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>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Criminal Justice
Year dc:date.available
2013

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Smith, Kathryn T.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Dr. Tanja Link
  • Dr. Jennifer McMahon-Howard
  • Dr. Christopher Totten

Subjects

dc:subject × 7

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/571
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu:etd-1575

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Kennesaw State University
Base URL
digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Smith, Kathryn T.. College Students’ Punitive Attitudes toward Five Types of Sex Offenders: Examining Factors that Influence Punitive Preferences. Thesis thesis, 2013. https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/571