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Description
More than 450,000 people work in public and private correctional institutions in the United States, collectively supervising over 2.2 million jail and prison inmates. The nature of correctional officers' work exposes them to numerous stressors which can have harmful effects on their health and their job performance. Several

More than 450,000 people work in public and private correctional institutions in the United States, collectively supervising over 2.2 million jail and prison inmates. The nature of correctional officers' work exposes them to numerous stressors which can have harmful effects on their health and their job performance. Several studies have examined the significance of environmental factors on work outcomes among prison staff. Less attention has been paid to external stressors such as negative images of correctional officers held by the community and correctional officers' perception of their own occupational prestige. This is an important omission considering the negative stereotypes associated with correctional officers and the tendency for media and entertainment outlets to perpetuate these stereotypes. The aim of this dissertation is to examine how perceived occupational prestige among correctional officers influences job stress. Specifically, the perceived occupational prestige associated with family and friends, the general public, and the media are assessed. To do so, the study employs multivariate analyses of data from a survey of 641 correctional officers employed in one Western prison system to examine the impact of perceived occupational prestige on an attitudinal and health measure of job stress. First, correctional officers believe that friends and family hold the most positive opinions about their profession, while the media has the most negative. Second, perceived occupational prestige among correctional officers does not appear to be a significant stressor, except for perceived occupational prestige associated with the media when predicting health job stress. Finally, when possible mediating variables are assessed for officers that had tenure longer than nine years perceived occupational prestige associated with the media has a significant effect on attitudinal and health job stress. In addition, for officers who identified themselves as non-White perceived occupational prestige associated with family and friends is a significant predictor of attitudinal job stress and perceived occupational prestige associated with the general public is a significant predictor of health job stress. This study concludes with a summary of these findings as well as its key limitations, and offers insight into potential policy implications and avenues of future research.
ContributorsVickovic, Samuel Gregory (Author) / Griffin, Marie L. (Thesis advisor) / Hepburn, John R. (Committee member) / White, Michael D. (Committee member) / Fradella, Henry F. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
While there is a good amount of research focused on sex offenders as a whole, only a limited number of studies examine variations within these offenders, how people view the variations, and why their opinions may differ. This study focuses on the interconnections among gender norms, rape myth acceptance, and

While there is a good amount of research focused on sex offenders as a whole, only a limited number of studies examine variations within these offenders, how people view the variations, and why their opinions may differ. This study focuses on the interconnections among gender norms, rape myth acceptance, and the perception of sex offenders by administering an online student survey. The survey measured rape myth acceptance and adherence to traditional gender roles to see how they affected perceptions of sex offenders. Perceptions were measured using vignettes that were varied by gender and the situation described. Results showed that higher rape myth acceptance would decrease the blameworthiness of the offender, that the offender was seen as more blameworthy when the offender was a male, and that women tended to see the offender as more blameworthy than men did. The type of sexual situation did not have an impact on blameworthiness, nor did adherence to gender roles. The findings support past research that suggests that rape myth acceptance can impact people’s opinions about offenders in sexual situations and specifically that these opinions differ depending on the gender of the offender. With some offenders being viewed as more blameworthy than others, it is necessary to examine sex offense laws to see how they may disproportionately affect some offenders and implement harsher punishments than the public may deem necessary.
ContributorsArenas, Lauren (Author) / Spohn, Cassia (Thesis advisor) / Fradella, Henry F. (Committee member) / Stolzenberg Roosevelt, Stacia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
The primary purpose of this project is to study the correlation between exposure to sexually-explicit materials and sexual offending. A thorough literature review has been conducted. The analyses include the definitions and history of sexual deviancy and paraphilia, a review of existing research that examines the complex relationship between said

The primary purpose of this project is to study the correlation between exposure to sexually-explicit materials and sexual offending. A thorough literature review has been conducted. The analyses include the definitions and history of sexual deviancy and paraphilia, a review of existing research that examines the complex relationship between said materials and criminal behavior, methods individuals use to access sexually-explicit materials, and case studies of individuals whose behavior is relevant to the purposes of this study. There does not appear to be a causal relationship between these two factors. However, there is an intricate, interrelated dynamic between the two that is worth examining more thoroughly. Further research should study the timeline in which sexual offenders first consumed sexually-explicit material, as well as the genesis of their sexually-deviant behaviors. This may lead to a clearer comprehension of their psychosexual criminality. Further understanding will hopefully lead to improved policies proposed by law makers, refined prevention/intervention strategies by law enforcement, and more effective rehabilitative methods for offenders.
ContributorsDwyer, Brittny Elise (Author) / Rebecca, Loftus (Thesis director) / Randall, Snyder (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05