A survey of counselor attitudes towards sex offenders. (Research).

This study investigated counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders and the relationship of these attitudes to counselors' experience, training, and personal characteristics. Participants were 437 counselors who were members of the Association for Mental Health Counselors or the International Association of Addictions and Offenders Counselors. Each participant completed the Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale (Hogue, 1993) and supplied personal background information. Results indicated that counselors tend to have positive attitudes toward sex offenders and that experience, preparation from training, and victim status are related to these positive attitudes. Results may be used to improve the quality of selection and training of counselors to provide services to sex offenders, improve the effectiveness of those services, and protect the public.

**********

Sexual assault is a serious problem in the United States. It has been reported that sexual victimization is widespread, with a lifetime prevalence rate of 25% for women and 15% for men (Barbaree, Marshall, & McCormick, 1998). Due to escalating incidences of sexual crimes, public awareness and concern about the problem of sexual violence have increased (Brown, 1999). The attitude of the general public toward sex offenders appears to be highly negative (Valliant, Furac, & Antonowicz, 1994).

The American criminal justice system has increasingly mandated that sex offenders be treated in outpatient settings rather than by incarceration alone (Barnard, Fuller, Robbins, & Shaw, 1989). Consequently, more and more sex offenders are receiving treatment in their own communities from counselors who work in community agencies and other outpatient facilities. This situation challenges community mental health counselors, who 10 years ago may never have encountered sex offenders, to examine their own feelings about sexual abuse and those who perpetrate it (Polson & McCullom, 1995). It is important for counselors to discover factors that influence their perception of sex offenders (Kaplan, 1984; Ray, McKinney, & Ford, 1987), because their perceptions may cause them to view sex offenders as criminals needing punishment instead of clients needing counseling. It is imperative that counselors, if they are to provide services effectively to sex offenders, explore their own biases about counseling this population.

Wodarski and Whitaker (1989) have argued that the behavior of the labeled sex offender is viewed from a completely different and more negative perspective than any other group of clients served in community mental health settings. This perceptual bias may contribute to the difficulty of treating sex offenders, who are identified with the nature of their crime on a negative, emotionally charged level. To compound the problem, sex offenders can be resistant to treatment (Pithers, 1997), and counseling sex offender clients can be highly stressful (Etgar, 1996). Counselors need specialized training and knowledge in order to provide services effectively to this population (O'Connell, Leberg, & Donaldson, 1990). These authors recommended that providers possess familiarity with sexual deviancy and victimization issues and knowledge of the criminal justice system. Essential skills and attributes also include confrontation skills; a concern for community safety; and the abilities to cope with stress, discuss sexual matters openly, maintain objectivity, and remain realistic about sex offenders and their potential for reoffense.

In addition to skills and knowledge, counselor attitudes have important implications for service delivery, including impact on quality of care, staff selection, choice of intervention, and quality of the counseling relationship. Rudisill (1997) and Scaletta (1995) have asserted that the Rogerian attributes of genuineness, accurate empathic understanding, and unconditional positive regard are important attributes for offender counselors to possess, and that treatment of sex offenders will not be effective without these core conditions. It may be difficult for counselors to feel positive regard for sex offender clients, due to the harmful and socially unacceptable nature of their offenses. A counselor who disapproves of a client but fakes acceptance could be expected to have difficulty in being either genuine or accepting. Counselors will most likely disapprove of the offending behaviors, yet they must be able to express genuine regard for the client as a human being (Scaletta, 1995).

Despite the necessity for maintaining these facilitative conditions in the counseling relationship, little clinical literature exists that examines how counselors maintain counseling attitudes or monitor and control their own emotional reactions to sex offenders. The few extant studies suggest that attitudes toward sex offenders differ depending on the degree of experience and specialist training. Previous research has suggested that professionals' attitudes are more positive following training (Hogue, 1995; Lea, Auburn, & Kibblewhite, 1999) and contact with sex offenders (Hogue, 1993; Hogue, in press; Lea et al., 1999; Weekes, Pelletier, & Beaudette, 1995). In addition, the literature has suggested that certain personal characteristics of counselors such as gender (Farrenkopf, 1992; Harnett, 1997), being a parent (Farrenkopf, 1992; Lea et al., 1999; Poison & McCullom, 1995), and history of victimization (Carone & LaFleur, 2000) may be related to attitudes toward sex offenders.

In a study by Farrenkopf (1992), 24 mental health counselors--with between 10 and 30 years of experience counseling sex offenders--were surveyed following pilot interviews. Female counselors reported feelings of increased vulnerability, paranoia, and vigilance regarding their own and their children's safety. Males reported an increased collective guilt regarding male abusive behavior.

Polson and McCullom (1995) conducted a qualitative study with several counselors who specialize in the treatment of sex offenders. All the counselors interviewed worked with both sex offenders and victims of sexual abuse. Four general themes describing counselor attitudes and behavior emerged from the interviews: (a) developing a positive view of perpetrators, (b) managing dysfunctional client behaviors and beliefs, (c) controlling personal reactivity, and (d) limitations of counseling. In developing a positive view, counselors described constructing cognitive frames that view the sex offender as vulnerable, impaired or human. It was also helpful to view the offenders as victims, realize their families still loved them, defend their right to treatment, and view them as individuals with problems (Polson & McCullom, 1995).

The counselors studied by Polson and McCullom (1995) confronted sex offenders' victim blaming and prodded them to accept responsibility for their actions. If the offender did not admit responsibility, the counselors' attitudes were more negative. In controlling personal reactivity, the counselors worked to control their own verbal or nonverbal expressions of disgust. They also coped by co-counseling in group work and tried to be nonjudgmental, control personal issues, and be appropriate role models (Polson & McCullom, 1995).

Carone and LaFleur (2000) studied 236 student counselors enrolled in one of eight counselor education master's degree programs. They found that sexually abused student counselors desired to see physically abused offenders more than they desired to see a nonabused offender. They concluded that counselors should understand how their own backgrounds influence their desire to see sex offenders and the possible effect on counseling outcome.

Farrenkopf (1992) studied counselors who possessed a considerable amount of experience treating sex offenders. Poison and McCullom (1995) conducted a qualitative study with a small number of counselors, while Carone and LaFleur (2000) studied students rather than practitioners. None of these studies focused solely on surveying counselors who may have no experience with sex offenders to determine counselors' attitudes.

The purpose of this study was to examine counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders. Two research questions were explored: (1) What are the attitudes of counselors toward sex offenders? and (2) Are the attitudes of counselors toward sex offenders related to training, experience, or personal characteristics?

METHOD

Participants

The participants in this study were professional counselors who were members of the Association for Mental Health Counselors (AMHCA) and the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC). Of the various affiliates and divisions of the American Counseling Association (ACA), these two associations were presumed to have the largest number of members of professional counselors who might counsel sex offenders.

Fowler (1988) has stated that precision for confidence ranges for variability due to sampling increases with sample sizes of 150-200. After that point, there is only a modest gain to increasing sample size. Based on an anticipated return rate of 33%, 800 participants were selected to receive surveys, 400 from AMHCA and 400 from IAAOC. This would produce a sample of 264 subjects which is well above the recommended level suggested by Fowler.

The two divisions sent the researcher mailing lists consisting of 500 systematically selected members from each division. The 500 members were listed in alphabetical order to check for dual membership. These members were chosen by the organization; for example, AMHCA selected every 12th member from its member roster consisting of approximately 6,000 members. IAAOC selected every 3rd member from its member roster consisting of approximately 1,500 members. After discarding participants with dual membership, a table of random numbers was used to choose the remaining 400 participants from each division.

Survey packets containing a cover letter, the researcher-constructed questionnaire, and the ATS (Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale; Hogue, 1993) were mailed to 400 members of AMHCA and 400 members of IAAOC. A total of 330 surveys were returned within three weeks. The nonrespondents were mailed a second copy of the survey packet after three weeks had elapsed. A total of 437 usable surveys were obtained. The overall response rate was 54.6%. Approximately equal numbers of respondents were AMHCA members (N = 206) and IAAOC members (N = 231).

Instrumentation

Participants received a packet containing one standardized scale and one researcher-constructed questionnaire. The Attitude Toward Sex Offenders Scale (Hogue, 1993) was adapted from the Attitude Toward Prisoners Scale (ATP; Melvin, Gramling, & Gardner, 1985), which is a 36-item scale developed to assess attitudes of those working in the criminal justice system toward prisoners. Hogue (1993) revised the ATS by replacing each reference to "prisoners" in the ATP with a reference to "sex offenders." The ATS is a 36-item survey instrument that uses a 5-point Likert scale, with response choices ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Of the 36 items, 19 statements are presented as negative (e.g., "Sex offenders are different from most people") and 17 are presented as positive (e.g., "Most sex offenders can be rehabilitated"). The scoring procedure requires conversion of the negative items so that a high score indicates a positive attitude toward sex offenders. After reversing the scores for the negative items, the scores for all items are summed. The range of raw scores for the ATS is 36-180. However, each raw score was divided by 36, the number of items on the scale, to convert the raw score back to the 5 point scale used to respond to each item on the ATS. This increases the interpretability of the scores. Overall, a higher score on the ATS indicates more positive attitudes toward sex offenders and a lower total score on the ATS indicates more negative attitudes toward sex offenders. Cronbach's alpha was used to establish the reliability of these scores and was computed at .92 for this study.

Several previous studies have established that the ATP has acceptable test-retest reliability (Melvin et al., 1985), internal consistency (Melvin et al., 1985; Gramling, 1979), and construct validity (Melvin et al., 1985; Hogue, 1993). Test-retest reliability was established by administering the ATP scale to 40 men and women enrolled in introductory psychology and then retesting them two weeks later. Internal consistency of the ATP was measured in two samples by correlating the total odd and total even scores and correcting r with the Spearman-Brown formula. Sample one was for 50 students (r = .90, p < .01; Melvin et al., 1985). Gramling's (1979) sample of 56 Mississippi State Penitentiary correctional officers also demonstrated high split-half reliability for the ATP scale (r = .84, p < .01). Finally, high KR-20 reliability was found in the following samples: (a) 23 Tuscaloosa law enforcement officers (r = .92, p < .01), (b) 157 prisoners (r = .88, p < .01), and (c) 19 persons involved in prison reform (r = .86, p < .01; Melvin et al., 1985).

As a check on social desirability, which refers to individuals responding to questions in ways that they believe to be socially acceptable rather than in a way consistent with their true beliefs and feelings (Anderson, 1981), a sample of 50 Tuscaloosa residents was given the ATP scale and the Marlow-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Anderson (1981) reported that if scores on a particular affective instrument are highly related to scores on the social desirability scale, then the validity of the affective instrument is suspect. The correlation between the ATP scale and the Social Desirability scale was -.02 (p < .10; Melvin et al., 1985) which indicates that the ATP is not highly related to social desirability.

Validity of the ATS has been established by administering the scale to several different groups (e.g., police groups, sex offenders, and prison officers) and comparing the means (Hogue, 1993). Hogue (in press) also validated the ATS with a British population of forensic mental health service providers and found that those staff groups providing more of the care and less of the counseling interventions (such as nursing assistants, social workers, and qualified nurses) held significantly more negative attitudes toward sex offenders than those staff groups most likely to be extensively involved in counseling work (psychologists, medical and rehabilitation staff).

The researcher-constructed questionnaire contained 13 items addressing background information and demographics. Four items were concerned with participants' level of experience and training in working with sex offenders, and the remaining questions inquired about the personal and professional characteristics of sex, age, ethnicity, educational level, year of most recent degree, marital status, parental status, employment setting, and previous personal victimization by a sexual offender.

RESULTS

Personal characteristic data collected included sex, ethnicity, marital status, children, and sexual victim status. Females comprised approximately two thirds of the participants (62.6%). The vast majority (91.2%) of the participants were European American, while fewer than 10% identified themselves with other ethnic groups. About two thirds (66.1%) were married; approximately 32% were separated, divorced, or single; and less than 2% were widowed. Most (74.2%) indicated that they did not have children under the age of 18. Slightly more than half (53.4%) of the participants indicated that they or someone to whom they were very close had been a victim of sexual abuse. While this percentage may seem high, it corresponds to the literature indicating that sexual victimization is widespread in the United States (Barbaree et al., 1998; Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1989).

Professional characteristic data included years that the most recent degree has been held, education, and employment setting. Participant characteristics specific to sex offender counseling included amount of experience in counseling this client population, sex offenders as part of their current caseload, training received in counseling sex offenders, and extent to which participants believed that training had assisted them in counseling such offenders. The typical respondent was 49 years old, had held a degree for about a decade, held a master's degree (73.9% of the sample), and was most likely to be employed in private practice (37.5%) or a community/agency (29.7%) setting. Personal and professional characteristic data are presented in Table 1 and Table 2.

Items related to experience with sex offender counseling were arranged in a semantic differential format with five response choices ranging from 1 (none) to 5 (to a great extent). Participants indicated they had some experience counseling sex offenders (M = 2.31), but sex offenders were not typically a part of their current caseload (M = 1.88). Overall, participants indicated they had participated in some form of training for counseling sex offenders (M = 2.35), and that this training also assisted them to some extent in counseling these clients (M = 2.31).

Data Analysis

The first research question was "What are the attitudes of counselors toward sex offenders?" This was tested with two analyses reflecting (a) a comparison to the neutral point of the 5-point Likert scale (i.e., 3.0) and (b) a comparison to the scores of known groups (e.g., psychiatric hospital staff working with sex offenders). These two comparisons offer both an absolute (Type II Comparison) and relative (Type III Comparison) interpretation of the subjects' scores (Anderson, 1981).

In the first analysis it was predicted that counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders would be positive. This was tested by comparing the total mean score on the ATS (M = 3.34) to that of the neutral value for the underlying scale (M = 3.00) using a one sample t test. The mean score fell approximately one third of a point above the neutral value on a 5-point scale. This difference was large enough to be statistically significant (t = 14.82,p = .00). Therefore, it was concluded that counselors do in fact hold positive attitudes toward sex offenders when their scores are interpreted relative to the underlying anchors in the scale.

The second analysis used the scores of a known group for comparison with the scores for those in this study. Two studies by Hogue (1993; in press) provided such data. The first measured the attitudes of police officers, prison officers who had received training related to the treatment of sex offenders, prison officers who had no such training, and probation officers/psychologists (Hogue, 1993). Mean scores for each group were compared to the mean score for the subjects in this study using independent samples t tests. Values of the t statistic ranged from 2.18 to 65.92; all were significantly different from the counselors' data. The second study measured the attitudes of staff working with mentally disordered sex offenders in a high security psychiatric hospital (Hogue, in press). Nursing assistants, qualified nurses, social workers, rehabilitation staff, medical staff, qualified psychologists, and assistant psychologists were included in the sample. Again, mean scores for each group were compared to the mean scores for the counselors in this study using independent samples t tests. Values of the t statistics ranged from 11.13 to 75.15; all were significantly different from the counselors' data. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that counselors participating in this study not only hold positive attitudes toward sex offenders, but also these attitudes are significantly more positive than those for other groups who have been trained to work with this population. Table 3 presents pertinent information related to these analyses.

The second research question was, "Are the attitudes of counselors toward sex offenders related to training, experience, or other characteristics?" A series of correlations and ANOVAs were used to analyze this research question. Correlations were used when the criterion variables were continuous and ANOVAs were used when the criterion variables were categorical. It was predicted that counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders would be more positive depending upon the extent to which they had counseled sex offenders. A correlational procedure indicated a significant positive relationship between attitudes toward sex offenders and experience counseling sex offenders (r =.18, p = .000). This implies that counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders become more positive with experience.

It was predicted that counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders would be more positive according to the extent to which their caseload included sex offenders. A correlational procedure indicated a significant positive relationship between attitude and caseload (r = .19, p = .000) suggesting that counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders become more positive with a greater caseload of sex offenders.

With respect to training, it was predicted that counselors' attitudes would be more positive according to the extent that they had received training for counseling sex offenders and according to the extent they believed their training had prepared them for this work. No relationship was found between attitudes and training (r = .08,p = .115). However, a significant positive relationship was found between attitudes and preparedness from training using the correlational procedure (r = .13, p = .006).

Tests of the relationship between attitudes and counselors' personal and professional characteristics yielded mixed results. Univariate ANOVA tests found no statistically significant difference between male and female counselors, between those holding a master's degree and those holding more advanced degrees, or between those with children under the age of 18 and those who did not have minor children, with respect to attitudes toward sex offenders. The univariate ANOVA procedure also indicated no significant differences associated with employment setting. Interestingly, although it was thought that counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders would be more positive if they (or someone to whom they were very close) had not been a victim of a sexual offense, a significant relationship was found to exist in the opposite direction from that which was expected.

To summarize the findings, results indicated that counselors hold positive attitudes toward sex offenders and that there is a relationship between attitudes and counselors' experience, level of contact, and preparation from training. There does not appear to be a relationship between counselor attitudes and the extent of their training. No relationships were found to exist between attitudes toward sex offenders and counselors' personal and professional characteristics of sex, education, parental status, and employment setting. Participants who indicated that they (or someone to whom they were very close) had been a victim of a sexual offense held more positive attitudes toward sex offenders.

DISCUSSION

Counselor Attitudes

Previous research has suggested that the general public holds negative attitudes toward sex offenders (Brown, 1999; Valliant et al., 1994). In this study, counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders were found to be positive as indicated by a mean score of 3.34 on the Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale. While this score was statistically different from the neutral value of 3.0, it is difficult to assess its practical significance. Because counselors are taught to be accepting of individual differences, it might be assumed that the attitudes of counselors would be more positive than the attitudes of the general public.

One reason for the positive attitude of counselors, as contrasted with the negative attitude that prevails among the general public, may be related to the professional field. Counselors typically are screened before entering into counselor education programs. They are then trained throughout their degree programs to be nonjudgmental, respectful, and to believe in client change. The majority of beginning counselors have been exposed to and trained in Rogers' person-centered counseling approach, which requires unconditional positive regard for clients, in their counselor education programs. Thus, it would be expected that counselors would be less judgmental than the general public.

Another possible explanation is that the counseling field is growing and counselors are being placed in a wide range of professional settings. Therefore, counselors may be open to providing services to chronic or difficult clients such as sex offenders. They also may be confident that the sex offender will receive medical or punitive interventions as needed (Scaletta, 1995), in addition to counseling.

If counselors hold a negative attitude toward sex offenders, an effective therapeutic relationship will be difficult to achieve. This study offers preliminary evidence that counselors generally hold positive attitudes toward sex offenders. Furthermore, it is suggested that there is a relationship between these attitudes and experience, preparation from training, and victim status.

Experience Counselors with more experience generally rated their attitude as more positive toward sex offenders than counselors with less experience. This corresponds to previous studies suggesting that experienced counselors view sex offenders as having the potential to change. A counselor who has never seen more than occasional sex offenders is not likely to have developed the experience or the expertise to handle their special problems. Prior clinical experience should include work with involuntary clients. A well-trained counselor should have had direct experience in assessing and treating offenders.

Training

An interesting finding was that there was no significant difference in counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders and the extent of training they received for counseling sex offenders. The lack of specific academic training available for counselors who provide services to this population may account for this finding. It does not appear that any formal training specific to counseling sex offenders exists for counselors in their degree programs. Typically, counselors gain specialized training through their clinical experience. This includes counseling in an institution, a community-based agency or nonresidential treatment facility, or a community-based private practice. This specialized training also takes place through attending workshops and seminars and reading professional journals.

Counselor training programs have given little attention to preparing counselors to provide services to sex offenders (Scaletta, 1995). No academic programs in the United States are specifically designed to teach specialized therapy for sex offenders (O'Connell et al., 1990). There is a need to devise training programs that incorporate theoretical models and treatment strategies specific to providing services to this client population.

There is some evidence to suggest that training to provide services to sex offenders may affect counselor attitudes toward this population. Hogue (1995) found that after training, participants' scores on the ATS increased. In addition, there was an increased belief that they had skills to work with sex offenders, stronger beliefs that counseling would stop offending acts, and a decrease in their perceived need for more information. The participants also experienced a reduced concern about the reactions of colleagues and an increased feeling of safety in their work. Hogue's study underscores the need for increased training for counselors who counsel sex offenders.

This study found that feeling prepared from training increases counselors' positive attitudes toward sex offenders. Hopefully, this finding will persuade agencies and counselors who wish to treat sex offenders to avail themselves of specialized training for sex offenders. Enhanced supervision is a critical element in preparing counselors to counsel sex offenders and in processing their emotional reactions (Scaletta, 1995).

Although no relationship was found between training and attitudes, a significant difference was found between counselors' attitudes toward sex offenders and their feeling prepared as a result of receiving training. It appears that counselors hold more positive attitudes toward sex offenders when they feel prepared from their training. This could be related to experience. Counselors who feel prepared from their training are likely to provide direct services to sex offenders. If this is the case, these counselors might request specific training or supervision, or seek out resources for treating sex offenders.

Victim Status

A surprising finding was that there was a relationship between participants' victim status and their attitudes toward sex offenders in the opposite direction of what was predicted. Counselors who indicated they (or someone to whom they were close) had been a victim of a sexual offense held more positive attitudes toward sex offenders. Initially, this was perplexing, but on reflection an explanation is offered. The research indicates that most individuals are victimized by people they know (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Because they know the offender, they are more aware of the full range of personal characteristics of sex offenders, including the positive features, than are those who form attitudes toward offenders without knowledge of what the offender is really like. As such, they may judge in a less stereotypical manner. They may be more cognizant of positive qualities such as holding long-term employment and involvement in the community in productive ways. This result suggests that a counselor who has been victimized need not feel constrained against counseling this population.

Sex, Employment, Parental Status, and Education

The results of this study found no significant differences in attitudes related to sex, employment, parental status, or education. Overall, these results are encouraging. Counselors who believe they may be interested in counseling sex offenders need not feel constrained because they are women, have children under age 18, work in a setting other than correctional/probation, or possess no formal training beyond the master's degree.

LIMITATIONS

A limitation of this study is that because only counselors were surveyed, findings cannot be generalized to other mental health professionals such as social workers, psychologists, or psychiatrists. In addition, there is an issue of respondent representation. There is the potential that individuals who did participate in the study may be qualitatively different from those who did not.

The use of self-report perceptual ratings of participants' attitudes toward sex offenders might reduce the validity of the study's results. Because of the subject content, respondents might have answered in a socially desirable manner to appear respectful. Respondents may have been particularly sensitive about presenting themselves as nonjudgmental and accepting. They may have defended against personal feelings of discomfort related to working with sex offenders by responding to the ATS in such a manner as to indicate a positive attitude. However, this study's finding that counselors have positive attitudes toward sex offenders is consistent with previous research findings that mental health professionals have more positive attitudes toward sex offenders than other professionals (Hogue, in press; Hogue & Peebles, 1997).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAINING AND PRACTICE

The findings of this study suggest several areas for future exploration. With over 30% of the counselors in this study indicating some past experience counseling sex offenders and 20% indicating they are currently counseling sex offenders, it would be useful to investigate which treatment approaches and strategies they have found to be effective with this population. This, in turn, would have implications for improving practice.

Due to the mandate of the criminal justice system that sex offenders be treated in outpatient settings rather than by incarceration alone, it seems likely that more counselors in community mental health settings will be called upon to provide services to this population. To prepare themselves for this eventuality, mental health counselors are encouraged to examine their personal attitudes toward sex offenders; seek in-service training specific to counseling this population; and seek out peer supervision, consultation, and support to avoid burnout and ensure that the most effective counseling services are provided.

CONCLUSION

A review of the literature shows that there is a trend toward providing treatment to sex offenders rather than simply incarcerating them. In the future, counselors will be faced with decisions regarding whether they want to counsel sex offenders (Scaletta, 1995). Successfully treating sex offenders is a major sexual abuse prevention task and is more necessary than ever with today's rising victim rates (Prendergast, 1991). Limited information is available regarding the counseling relationship with sex offenders and training models for counselors of sex offenders. Results from this study that link experience and preparation from training to more positive attitudes toward sex offenders may help to improve counselor training and counselor selection and may ultimately improve the counseling relationship with sex offender clients.

Table 1. Personal and Professional Characteristic Data

Characteristic                  Frequency   Percent

Sex (1)
 Female                            273        62.6
 Male                              163        37.4
 Total                             436       100.0

Ethnicity (2)
 European American                 393        91.2
 African American                   16         3.7
 Native American                    12         2.8
 Biracial/Multiracial                5         1.2
 Hispanic                            4         0.9
 Asian                               1         0.2
 Total                             431        100.0

Marital Status (3)
 Married/Partnered                 287         66.1
 Separated/Divorced                 75         17.3
 Single                             65         15.0
 Widowed                             7          1.6
 Total                             434        100.0

Children (Under 18) (2)
 No                                320         74.2
 Yes                               111         25.8
 Total                             431        100.0

Education (4)
 Master's                          303         73.9
 Doctoral                           58         14.1
 Post-Doctoral                      26          6.3
 Specialist                         19          4.6
 Other                               4          1.0
 Total (4)                         431        100.0

Employment
 Private Practice/Consultant       164         37.5
 Community/Agency                  130         29.7
 University/College                 38          8.7
 Correctional/Probation/Court       29          6.6
 School (K-12)                      20          4.6
 Psychiatric Hospital               11          2.5
 Other                              45         10.3
 Total                             437        100.0

(1) One nonrespondent, (2) 6 nonrespondents, (3) 3 nonrespondents,
(4) 27 nonrespondents
Table 2. Age, Years Holding Degree, Experience, Level of Contact, and
         Training

Characteristic                N    Mean    Standard Deviation

Age (1)                      418   48.85         9.92
Years Holding Degree (2)     384   10.35         8.80
Counseled Sex Offenders      437    2.31         1.22
Caseload                     437    1.88         1.07
Training                     437    2.35         1.22
Prepared from Training (3)   432    2.31         1.29

(1) 19 nonrespondents, (2) 53 nonrespondents, (3) 5 nonrespondents
Table 3. ATS Comparison Scores

Study                     Sample             N    Mean      SD

Hogue, 1993       Probation/Psychologists    11    90.7    11.64
                      Prison Officers
                        (Treatment)          50    80.0    13.13
                      Prison Officers
                       (NoTreatment)         21    71.5    17.34
                      Police officers        33    62.6    17.47

Hogue, in press      Nursing assistants      29    60.0    22.43
                      Qualified nurses      108    73.5    19.39
                       Social workers         5    65.2    13.38
                        Rehab staff          11    88.2    11.89
                       Medical staff          5    79.2    19.60
                  Qualified psychologists     9    92.3    13.87
                  Assistant psychologists     9    85.3     8.78

Nelson, 2001            Counselors          437   120.11   17.07

Study                     Sample             t statistics

Hogue, 1993       Probation/Psychologists       2.18 *
                      Prison Officers
                        (Treatment)            65.92 **
                      Prison Officers
                       (NoTreatment)           11.74 **
                      Police officers          24.00 **

Hogue, in press      Nursing assistants        75.15 **
                      Qualified nurses         11.13 **
                       Social workers          29.57 **
                        Rehab staff            25.38 **
                       Medical staff           22.00 **
                  Qualified psychologists      20.02 **
                  Assistant psychologists      25.12 **

Nelson, 2001            Counselors             14.82 **

* p < .05, ** p < .01
Table 4. Correlations between the ATS and Counselor Characteristics

Characteristic               N       r

Counseled Sex Offenders      437   .18 **
Caseload                     437   .19 **
Training                     437   .08
Prepared from Training (1)   432   .13 **

(1) 5 nonrespondents

** significant at the p < .01 level

REFERENCES

Anderson, L. (1981). Assessing affective characteristics in the schools. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Barbaree, H. E., Marshall, W. L., & McCormick, J. (1998). The development of deviant sexual behavior among adolescents and its implications for prevention and treatment. The Irish Journal of Psychology, 19, 1-31.

Barnard, M., Fuller, S., Robbins, E., & Shaw, M. (1989). The child molester. New York: Plenum.

Brown, S. (1999). Public attitudes toward the treatment of sex offenders. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 4, 239-252.

Carone, S., & LaFleur, N. (2000). The effect of adolescent sex offender abuse history on counselor attitudes. Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, 20, 56-63.

Etgar, T. (1996). Parallel processes in a training and supervision group for counselors work-ing with adolescent sex offenders. Social Work with Groups, 19(3/4), 57--69.

Farrenkopf, T. (1992). What happens to therapists who work with sex offenders? Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 18, 217--223.

Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I., & Smith, C. (1989). Sexual abuse and its relationship to later sexual satisfaction, marital satisfaction, marital status, religion, and attitudes. Journal of lnterpersonal Violence, 4, 379-399.

Fowler, F. (1988). Survey research methods (Vol. 1). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Gramling, L. (1979). An analysis of the characteristics of the "good" correctional officer as rated by peers, supervisors, and residents. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Alabama.

Harnett, P. (1997). The attitudes of female and male residential care-workers to the perpetrators of sexual and physical assault. Child Abuse and Neglect, 21,861-868.

Hogue, T. (1993). Attitudes towards prisoners and sexual offenders. Issues in Criminological and Legal Psychology, 9, 27--32.

Hogue, T. (1995). Training multi-disciplinary teams to work with sex offenders: Effects on staff attitudes. Psychology, Crime, and Law, 1, 227--235.

Hogue, T (in press). A survey of staffs training needs and attitudes towards sex offenders. Retford, Notts, U.K: Rampton Hospital.

Hogue, T., & Peebles, J. (1997). The influence of remorse, intent and attitudes toward sex offenders on judgments of a rapist. Psychology, Crime, and Law, 3, 249--259.

Kaplan, S. P. (1984). Rehabilitation counseling students' perceptions of obese male and female clients. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, January, 172--181.

Koss, M., Gidycz, C., & Wisniewski, N. (1987). The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 162--170.

Lea, S., Auburn, T., & Kibblewhite, K. (1999). Working with sex offenders: The perceptions and experiences of professionals and paraprofessionals. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 43, 103--119.

Melvin, K., Gramling, L., & Gardner, W. (1985). A scale to measure attitudes toward prisoners. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 12, 241--253.

Nelson, M. (2001). Counselor attitudes toward sex offenders. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of New Orleans.

O'Connell, M., Leberg, E., & Donaldson, C. (1990). Working with sex offenders: Guidelines for therapist selection. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Pithers, W. (1997). Maintaining treatment integrity with sexual abusers. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 24, 34--51.

Polson, M., & McCullom, E. (1995). Therapist caring in the treatment of sexual abuse offenders. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 4, 21--43.

Prendergast, W. E. (1991). Treating sex offenders in correctional institutions and outpatient clinics: A guide to clinical practice. Binghamton, NY: Haworth.

Ray, D. C., McKinney, K. A., & Ford, C. V. (1987). Differences in psychologists' rating of older and younger clients. Gerontologist, 27, 81--86.

Rudisill, M. (1997). Residential treatment of six-to twelve-year-old sexually aggressive male youth: Emotional impact on child care workers and clinical staff (Doctoral dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 1997). Dissertation Abstracts International, 58, 2534.

Scaletta, S. (1995). The effect of adolescent sexual offenders' abuse history on counselor judgments (Doctoral dissertation, University of Virginia, 1995). Dissertation Abstracts International, 56, 1666.

Valliant, P., Furac, C., & Antonowicz, D. (1994). Attitudes toward sex offenders by female undergraduate university students enrolled in a psychology program. Social Behavior and Personality, 22, 105--110.

Weekes, J., Pelletier, G., & Beaudette, D. (1995). Correctional officers: How do they perceive sex offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 39, 55--61.

Wodarski, J., & Whitaker, D. (1989). Issues in treating sex offenders in the community. Journal of Social Work and Human Sexuality, 7, 145--155.

Meredith Nelson, Ph.D., is an assistant professor, Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Shreveport. Email [e-mail]. Barbara Herlihy, Ph.D., is a professor, and Jeffrey Oescher, Ph.D., is an associate professor. Both are with the Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations, University of New Orleans, LA.