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Coping with Stigma: How Registered Sex Offenders Manage their Public Identities

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which registered sex offenders (RSOs) cope with stigmatization and manage their identities when they are subjected to or anticipate social condemnation. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 RSOs. Respondents discussed methods they use to cope with and manage their stigmatized identities, including honesty, concealment, and isolation, which are addressed in prior literature on stigma management. Additional coping strategies were discussed: grouping, in which RSOs seek out other individuals who are similarly stigmatized as a source of social support and understanding, and denial, in which whereby stigmatized individuals disavow the label that society has ascribed upon them to subjectively reform their identities as separate from their sex offense conviction. Stigmatization of RSOs has negative effects on their social participation and methods of coping with their stigmatized identities may have implications for public health. Recommendations for improving the supervision of RSOs in the community are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers and would not have been possible without the generous assistance of several members of ATSA. The authors wish to extend sincere gratitude to Philip Parnell for his mentoring, guidance, and patience. Many thanks as well to Edward Hirt, Kip Schlegel, Arvind Verma, and Hal Pepinsky, who were also instrumental in shaping this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Criminal Justice Department, Mercy College, 555 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY, 10522, USA

    Douglas N. Evans

  2. Research and Evaluation Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 524 W. 59th Street, BMW Suite 605, New York, NY, 10019, USA

    Douglas N. Evans & Michelle A. Cubellis

Authors
  1. Douglas N. Evans
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  2. Michelle A. Cubellis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Douglas N. Evans.

Appendix: Semi-structured interview guide

Appendix: Semi-structured interview guide

  1. I.

    Demographics

    1. 1.

      Sex?

    2. 2.

      Age?

    3. 3.

      Ethnicity?

    4. 4.

      Marital status?

    5. 5.

      Do you identify with any religion or spiritual group?

      1. a.

        If so, how involved are you in this religion or spiritual group?

    6. 6.

      What is the highest level of education you have completed?

    7. 7.

      What is your housing situation?

    8. 8.

      With whom do you live?

    9. 9.

      Are you responsible for paying all rent and bills? If no, who else contributes?

    10. 10.

      Are you financially responsible for anyone?

    11. 11.

      Are you currently employed? If so, where? How long have you been there?

      1. a.

        If unemployed, how many jobs have you applied for since your release?

  1. II.

    Registration/Notification

  2. 12.

    What do you know about sex offender registration?

  3. 13.

    What do you know about community notification?

  4. 14.

    What do you know about residency restrictions?

  5. 15.

    Were registration, community notification, and/or residency restrictions part of your sentence? (IF NO to ALL, SKIP this section)

  6. 16.

    From your experience, what was the process of registration like?

  7. 17.

    From your experience, what was the process of community notification like?

  8. 18.

    From your experience, how do residency restrictions work in your community?

  9. 19.

    How has registration (community notification, residency restrictions) affected your life?

  10. 20.

    What, if any, benefits to sex offender registration (community notification, residency restrictions), do you see, either to society or to you personally?

  11. 21.

    What, if any, consequences to sex offender registration (community notification, residency restrictions), do you see, either to society or to you personally?

  12. 22.

    How do you think your life be different if you were not forced to register?

  13. 23.

    Can you think of any other experiences in your life that compare to registration? Discuss.

  14. 24.

    How much do you accept the label “sex offender”?

  1. III.

    Reactions from significant others

  2. 25.

    Who in your life knows about your offense?

  3. 26.

    How did they find out?

  4. 27.

    What kinds of reactions did you get from the people in your life when they found out about your offense?

  5. 28.

    Have people in your life been supportive since your conviction? How so?

  6. 29.

    Which people in your life have been the most supportive of you since your conviction?

  7. 30.

    Have people in your life been critical of you since your conviction? How so?

  8. 31.

    Which people in your life have been the most critical of you since your conviction?

  9. 32.

    Generally, how do people in your life treat you since your conviction?

  1. IV.

    Societal reactions

  2. 33.

    Do you feel that being registered has made you different from others? How so?

  3. 34.

    What do you deal with that the general public does not?

  4. 35.

    Have you ever been recognized in public as being a sex offender? If so, please explain what happened.

  5. 36.

    What do you suppose the public thinks about people convicted of sex offenses?

  6. 37.

    Do you think that society is too hard on you? How so/why not?

  1. V.

    Reactions to Stigmatized Others

  2. 38.

    Do you personally know any convicted felons?

  3. 39.

    Do you personally know any other convicted sex offenders?

    1. a.

      What do you think of them?

    2. b.

      What do they think of you?

  4. 40.

    What are your opinions of sex offenders?

  1. VI.

    Stigma Management/Coping strategies

  2. 41.

    How do you cope with being a registered sex offender?

  3. 42.

    How often do you think about your conviction or anything related to it?

    1. a.

      What thoughts do you usually have about it?

  4. 43.

    What situations, if any, do you try to avoid situations where you may have to report your conviction?

  5. 44.

    Since your registration, do you avoid any people? Who? Why?

  6. 45.

    Have you ever lied about your conviction in any situation? Why/why not?

  7. 46.

    What kinds of feelings do you have about yourself since your registration?

  8. 47.

    Has your self-esteem changed since your conviction? How so?

  9. 48.

    How important is it to you to be honest about your status as a sex offender? Why?

  10. 49.

    How do you decide when to tell someone about your criminal history?

  11. 50.

    Do you ever try to hide your status? From whom? In what situations?

  12. 51.

    When you want to or need to, how do you keep your status secret?

  13. 52.

    How does acting secretive make you feel?

  14. 53.

    Who do you choose to tell about your criminal history? At what point would you tell a new acquaintance?

  15. 54.

    How do you feel when you share your criminal history with someone?

  16. 55.

    Can you provide any examples of conversations you’ve had with others in which you shared your criminal history?

  17. 56.

    If you had a close friend who was convicted of an offense similar to yours, how would you advise them about telling others?

  18. 57.

    Since being registered, have you become more social? More isolated? Why?

  19. 58.

    Do you try to resist the sex offender label? How so? Can you think of any examples?

  20. 59.

    How much to identify with sex offenders?

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Evans, D.N., Cubellis, M.A. Coping with Stigma: How Registered Sex Offenders Manage their Public Identities. Am J Crim Just 40, 593–619 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-9277-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-9277-z

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