Authors
Elizabeth L Jeglic, Cynthia Calkins Mercado, Jill S Levenson
Publication date
2012/3
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Justice
Volume
37
Pages
46-59
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Description
Little research has investigated the prevalence of mood disturbance among sex offenders despite the fact that psychological distress may bear some relationship to community reintegration, and ultimately, recidivism. All offenders on New Jersey’s sex offender Internet registry were mailed surveys about their experiences with, and perceptions of, notification and residence restriction statutes, the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). On average, respondents (N = 104) reported mild to moderate levels of depressive symptoms (M BDI = 17.1) and hopelessness (M BHS = 6.9). Additionally, offenders who reported being negatively affected by residence restrictions and notification statutes reported higher levels of both depression and hopelessness. Given evidence that sex offender specific legislation may de-stabilize offenders, this research …
Scholar articles
EL Jeglic, CC Mercado, JS Levenson - American Journal of Criminal Justice, 2012