Adolescents’ Knowledge About Registration/Notification Policies and Sexual Offending Behavior

• In Event: Poster Session 1

Abstract

Juvenile sex offender registration and notification (JSORN) policies are in part based on general
deterrent principles. However, past research showed that many adolescents are unaware that
certain common sexual behaviors can result in registration and notification, and policy-aware
youth are just as likely as others to have engaged in those registerable sexual behaviors. We
tested whether adolescents’ policy knowledge differs by graduated sanction type:
criminalization; criminalization plus registration; or criminalization, registration, and
notification. We also tested whether a brief educational intervention could improve adolescents’
policy knowledge. Over one-quarter of our community sample of 338 adolescents failed a quiz
designed to assess knowledge that certain sexual behaviors could lead youth to experience
serious legal consequences, including sex offender registration and notification. Knowledge did
not differ across the different sanction conditions, and policy knowledge was unrelated to actual
sexual offending, which was reported by 28% of our adolescents. Although the educational
intervention was effective, our other findings suggest improving adolescents’ knowledge about
JSORN policy is not likely to curb offending. Our results add to a growing body of literature
casting doubt on the deterrent potential of JSORN policies while simultaneously demonstrating
the number of youth at risk of being subjected to it.

Authors

• Cynthia Najdowski, University at Albany, SUNY

• Hayley Cleary, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Amy Clifton-Mills, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Melissa Anderson, University at Albany, SUNY