First Name:
Eguono
Last Name:
Akpoduado
Major Department:
Criminal Justice
Thesis Director:
Twila Wingrove
Date of Thesis:
May 2014
Due to the focus on male sex offenders and the insufficient amount of literature on female sex offenders, the purpose of this study was to examine the opinions of college students toward female sex offenders in comparison to male sex offenders. The study also examined student reactions toward both male and female sex offenders when the sexual offense involved a homosexual relationship. Very few studies have examined the effect of legal history on attitudes towards sex offenders. Therefore, this study included an extra manipulation whereby the sex offender and the victim had a nonsexual past offense. Participants were undergraduate students at Appalachian State University enrolled in psychology courses. Results showed that the only manipulation that affected reports of defendants' guilt and blame was whether the defendant or victim had a past offense.