Thesis advisor: Ann W. Burgess / Purpose: The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative study was to describe the meaning of being considered a ‘sex offender’ for the individual who is reintegrating into society. The aims included understanding the lived experience of the participants, while considering issues associated with self-perception, perception of others, stigma and humanization. A secondary aim was to unveil the meaning of being identified as a ‘sex offender’ and reintegrating into society carrying such label. Background: Individuals with a criminal history face several barriers upon reentering society. For individuals with a history of sexual offenses, the challenges are even more aggravated. In many instances, society perceives individuals charged with a sex offense (ICSO) as “evil,” “monsters” and “the highest form of evil.” Additionally, upon reentry, ICSOs are subject to several sanctions that are uniquely directed towards those who have committed sexual crimes, such as civil commitments, housing and employment limitations and the Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB). While treatment specializing in sex offending is available and has been associated with reduced sex offending, issues associated with stigma, protracted or inhibited reintegration and overall recidivism are still common occurrences. Method: This study was guided by Heidegger’s hermeneutic phenomenology philosophical principles, Max van Manen’s approach guided data collection and analysis. Only male adults (>18) were included in the study, and those who had a current “prisoner status” were excluded. Fourteen participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Participants were individually interviewed about their experience of being charged with a sexual offense, accounting for when they were first charged, until the period in which they reentered society. An iterative process was used for data analysis. Data was coded and interpreted through a hermeneutic circle. To ensure rigor and trustworthiness, Lincoln and Guba’s criteria were used, which include credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability. Audit trails, triangulation and reflexivity were essential strategies. Results: The study sample consisted of fourteen men, ranging in age from 23 to 68 years old (x̄ = 51.7 years; table 1). One participant identified his race/ethnicity as Asian American, while all other participants identified their race/ethnicity as white. Five of the participant were assigned a level 3 in the SORB, while four were assigned a level 1, three were assigned a level 2 and two were awaiting a level designation. The major themes identified were: (1) Exposed secret leads to humiliation (2) Being considered a sex offender is living in fear of the unknown, (3) Stigma consumes the identity of the individual charged with a sexual offense (4) Reframing and “leveling” of the crime are coping strategies; and (5) The path towards healing and forgiveness is complex. These themes represent different facets of the phenomenon of interest. Conclusion: Through hermeneutic phenomenology, a more complete understanding of the meaning of being considered a ‘sex offender’ for the person reintegrating into society was formed. The data uncovered allowed for a conceptualization of the phenomenon, The vexed question of accepting guilt while avoiding shame. Future research should focus on longitudinally exploring the interplay between behavior and the process of shame and guilt over time. Moreover, future studies should test and verify the conceptualization. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing. / Discipline: Nursing.

abstract: This study hypothesizes that prosecutors would be more likely to prosecute juveniles who engage in sexual activity with an underage same-sex partner than those who engage in underage sexual activity with a member of the opposite sex. To test this hypothesis, surveys were mailed to 1,000 prosecutors around the United States with a between subject design, meaning that each participant was only exposed to one condition in the vignette they read. There were a total of four vignettes, creating four conditions of different “offender” sex and “victim” sex in sexually appropriate relationships. The vignettes contain conditions in which either a male or female junior in high school was videotaped having oral sex with either a male or a female freshman in high school. Prosecutors were asked questions about whether they would prosecute the older student for statutory rape. Results indicated that manipulations of “offender” sex and “victim” sex were not statistically significant on prosecutorial discretion or punishment severity/motives; however, these manipulations did alter the prosecutors’ perceptions of the offender. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2017

America's Sex Offense statutes and cases are some of the most controversial sections of modern law, both for the extreme sensitivity of their subject matter as well as the scope and application of those laws. This thesis is an analysis and overview of both the objective and subjective issues posed by the current state of those very laws: the subjective portion explored the development of current laws and the diverse attendant legal issues such as over-broadness and excessive or misdirected effect as compared to the Legislative and public intent which directly led to the development of these laws. Additionally a more objective study of their efficacy was conducted through the use of data regarding offense rates by locality. This objective data was procured from both the United States Census and Bureau of Justice statistics, which contained national averages such as the overall violent crime rate, and from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Statistics and was supplemented with additional data from other academic sources. It is both the subjective conclusion and the interpretation of objective data that while the rate of sex offenses has lowered in recent decades this effect is a part of the overall trend of reduction in all violent offenses, and that the extreme stance of modern sex offense laws have arguably resulted in the net-negative of creating a class of individuals ostracized from all but other sex offenders who are virtually incapable of supporting themselves or at times of even finding legal habitation post-release. With little to no chance of a productive life, there is the strong possibility of recidivism and little incentive to avoid re-offending.

This study explored changes in affect regulation and coping strategies with family functioning and attachment behaviors among a sample of incarcerated male adolescents (N = 115) and their maternal caregivers (N = 71). The sample participated in the Multiple Family Group Intervention (MFGI; Keiley, 2007) which is an 8-session program conducted in a juvenile correctional institution with adolescents adjudicated of a sexual offense, and their families. In 90-minute sessions, group facilitators use a six-step therapeutic method for altering interactional patterns from an affect regulation and attachment perspective. Using enactments and discussion, the intervention targets affect regulation and communication skills. Results indicate that changes in affect regulation and coping skills from pre- to post-intervention were related to changes in family functioning and attachment behaviors. Findings add to growing empirical support for the utility of systemic interventions within juvenile justice systems to strengthen affect regulation, coping skills, family functioning, and attachment behaviors.

La présente recherche porte sur « l’attribution de la responsabilité » auprès d’une population de 166 adolescents auteurs d’agression sexuelle âgés de 12 à 19 ans. Le but premier de cette investigation est de déterminer quels aspects psychologiques (âge, stress post-traumatique, distorsion cognitive, estime de soi, aliénation, immaturité) influencent trois types d’attributions de la responsabilité, soit la culpabilité, l’attribution externe et l’attribution interne, et ainsi sur quels niveaux focaliser le traitement. Les résultats des régressions multiples ont mis en avant deux modèles. Pour le modèle prédisant la culpabilité, une seule composante est retenue, le stress post-traumatique. Ce modèle explique 26% (ajusté) de la variance de la culpabilité (R2=0,29, F(6,120)=8,35, p<0,01). Le modèle prédisant l’attribution externe est composé de l’âge et des distorsions cognitives et permet d’expliquer 25% (ajusté) de la variance (R2=0,28, F(6,122)=8,03, p<0,01). L’attribution interne ne présente aucune corrélation avec les variables étudiées. Le deuxième objectif est d’estimer l’efficacité de la prise en charge du jeune pour modifier l’attribution de responsabilité, selon les différentes modalités qui sont le « milieu de prise en charge », la « durée du traitement » et « l’approche thérapeutique » afin de choisir le programme le plus adéquat. En utilisant l’analyse de la variance (ANOVA), il a été possible de déterminer qu’aucune de ces modalités n’influence l’attribution de la responsabilité. Cette étude présente des limites, notamment la puissance statistique. Comme piste pour de futures recherches, le lien entre l’attribution de la responsabilité et la récidive pourrait être examiné. / This research is about blame attribution of 166 juvenile sex offenders between the age of 12 and 19. The first goal is to determine which psychological aspects (age, post-traumatic stress, cognitive distortions, self-esteem, alienation, immaturity) influence the 3 types of blame attribution (culpability, external attribution and internal attribution) as well as to determine the focus level of treatment. The results of the multiple regressions show two models. The model predicting culpability is only composed by post-traumatic stress. This model explains 26% (adjusted) of the culpability variance (R2=0,29, F(6,120)=8,35, p<0,01). The model predicting external attribution is composed by age and cognitive distortions. It explains 25% (adjusted) of variance (R2=0,28, F(6,122)=8,03, p<0,01). Internal attribution hasn’t shown a correlation with the studied variables. The second goal is to estimate the efficiency provided by different services to modify blame attribution according to the care environments, length of treatment and therapeutic approach in order to come up with the best set up. Thanks to ANOVAs, it was possible to find out that none of the modalities have an impact on blame attribution. This research has some limits, especially statistical power. For consideration of future studies, links between blame attribution and recidivism could be investigated.