Date of Award
9-10-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Criminal Justice
First Advisor
Tusty ten Bensel
Abstract
This dissertation focused on the quality of institutions relative to theories of life-course and desistance. Specifically, this study focused on the quality of marriage, parenthood, and employment and whether the quality of these institutions inhibited or encouraged sexual offending/reoffending and how these factors influenced individuals’ offending behavior over time. While there is an abundance of literature relative to institutions and general offending, little is known about how these institutions impact sexual offending. The purpose of this dissertation was to fill this gap in the extant literature by qualitatively examining how the institutions of marriage, parenthood, and employment influenced sexual offending/reoffending over time. The data included life history interviews with 43 sex offenders living in Nebraska who are no longer under any form of correctional control. Informal conversational interviews were conducted to understand sex offender experiences, and how registrants interpreted life events and how these events influenced their sexual criminal behavior. I found institutions play a myriad of roles in registrants’ lives and can both facilitate and inhibit sexual offending depending on one’s personal set of circumstances. Therefore, it is imperative to accurately measure and capture the effects of institutions not just their mere presence and have data over time, as their influence on sexual offending may change as individuals’ lives evolve.
Recommended Citation
Cooley, Brooke, "Not All Factors Are the Same: Examining Institutions Among Sex Offenders Throughout the Life-Course" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 959.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/959
