Perceptions of Sexual Offenders (PSO) Scale

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Peer Reviewed

This is a peer-reviewed entry published in Encyclopedia Journal, full entry can be found at 10.3390/encyclopedia5040168

Derived from the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders scale (CATSO), the Perceptions of Sex Offenders (PSO) scale is 20-item instrument designed to be a practical and accurate assessment of perceptions of those who have offended sexually. The PSO was developed by Harper and Hogue through a revision of the CATSO scale, incorporating exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with new validation samples. A three-factor scale emerged which assesses perceptions related to the sentencing and management of sexual offenders, stereotype endorsement of the person who offends sexually, and perception of the person who has offended sexually as a continued risk. This entry outlines the historical context of the PSO and the social science literature in which the instrument has been used. As well, this entry describes the development and psychometric properties of the PSO as well as the potential uses of the instrument in non-academic settings (e.g., judicial, restorative justice).

sexual offending psychometric perceptions attitudes risk sentencing management stereotypes reintegration

Individuals who have committed sexual offences are often subject to more extreme negative opinions compared to other non-sexually offending criminal groups ^[1]. Public perceptions of individuals convicted of sexual offences significantly influence their treatment in social, medical, and legal systems ^[2]^[3]. Stigma also significantly hampers successful reintegration upon release for these individuals, leading to reduced access to employment, housing, and social services ^[4]. Furthermore, these obstacles have been linked to a higher risk of reoffending ^[5]^[6], further perpetuating cycles of harm and victimization. Therefore, it is essential to assess public attitudes toward people who have committed sexual offences to predict and subsequently address misconceptions. Fortunately, over the last several decades, researchers have established several psychometric tools to measure perceptions toward people who have committed sexual offences. One of these measures is the Perceptions of Sexual Offenders scale (PSO; ^[7]).

The aim of the present entry is to provide a comprehensive overview of the PSO. Section 2 describes the development of the PSO, including its origins in the Community Attitudes Toward Sexual Offenders scale (CATSO; ^[8]). Section 2 also reviews how the PSO has been utilized in the research literature, with attention to experimental manipulations, sensitivity to situational and perceiver characteristics (e.g., offender’s gender, perceiver’s gender, victimology, and individual differences), and correlational research. Section 3 evaluates the psychometric properties of the PSO, including reliability, discriminant and convergent validity, and evidence from factor analyses. Section 4 explores some potential practical implications of the scale for risk assessment, community initiatives, interpersonal relationships, and judicial processes. Section 5 concludes by summarizing the PSO’s contributions and outlining directions for future work.

References

Rogers, D.L.; Ferguson, C.J. Punishment and rehabilitation attitudes toward sex offenders versus nonsexual offenders. J. Aggress. Maltreatment Trauma 2011, 20, 395–414.
Fortney, T.; Levenson, J.; Brannon, Y.; Baker, J.N. Myths and facts about sexual offenders: Implications for treatment and public policy. Sex. Offender Treat. 2007, 2, 1–17.
Levenson, J.S.; Brannon, Y.N.; Fortney, T.; Baker, J. Public perceptions about sex offenders and community protection policies. Anal. Soc. Issues Public Policy 2007, 7, 137–161.
Grossi, L.M. Sexual offenders, violent offenders, and community reentry: Challenges and treatment considerations. Aggress. Violent Behav. 2017, 34, 59–67.
Hanson, R.K.; Harris, A.J.R. Where should we intervene?: Dynamic predictors of sexual offense recidivism. In Current Perspectives on Sex Crimes; Holmes, R.M., Holmes, S.T., Eds.; Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA, USA, 2002; pp. 300–319.
Willis, G.M.; Grace, R.C. The quality of community reintegration planning for child molesters. Sex. Abus. 2008, 20, 218–240.
Harper, C.A.; Hogue, T.E. Measuring public perceptions of sex offenders: Reimagining the community attitudes toward sex offenders (CATSO) scale. Psychol. Crime Law 2015, 21, 452–470.
Church, W.T.; Wakeman, E.E.; Miller, S.L.; Clements, C.B.; Sun, F. The community attitudes toward sex offenders scale: The development of a psychometric assessment instrument. Res. Soc. Work Pract. 2008, 18, 251–259.

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Subjects: Criminology & Penology

Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register : B. J. Rye , Amy G. Tuer

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Online Date: 16 Oct 2025

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