Attitudes toward sex offenders by female undergraduate university students enrolled in a psychology program

A survey of first and third year psychology students was undertaken to investigate whether longer enrolment in a university program would have an impact on attitude formation toward sexual offenders. All students were administered a battery of standardized tests to obtain a personality profile and their attitudes. Overall the third year students had a greater sense of well being, intellectual efficiency, self control, psychological mindedness, were more repressed, and tolerant than first year students. Although third year students had different personality traits than first year students they held similar attitudes regarding sexual offenders. Both student groups believed that sexual offenders should receive incarceration of more than two years for their first offense but should receive parole and indefinite treatment following their release from jail.