Development of the Attitudes Toward Partners of People Who Have Sexually Offended Questionnaire

Non-offending partners of those who have sexually offended face severe negative consequences in the aftermath of an offense, many of which are directly linked to their negative interactions with others-including intervening agencies. Despite this, the only available measure of attitudes toward non-offending partners has several shortcomings and, as a result, attitudes toward non-offending partners are underexamined. The current research aimed to address this issue by using the input of Criminal Justice System-adjacent professionals, non-offending partners, and the general public to create a scale measuring Attitudes toward Partners of People who had Sexually Offended. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that attitudes toward non-offending partners had four underlying dimensions: (1) Judgement of non-offending partners' relationship decision-making, (2) behavioral intent toward non-offending partners, (3) judgement of non-offending, and (4) shaming of non-offending partners. Subsequent studies validated the scale using confirmatory factor analysis, psychometric evaluations, and construct and criterion-related validity assessments. Here, we also found that professionals working for the police and social services held more favorable attitudes toward non-offending partners (i.e., score lower on the measure), than a general population sample, and that negative attitudes toward non-offending partners predicted intent to discriminate-but not behavioral aggression-toward this group. These findings are discussed, alongside the limitations of this research, in light of their implications and while considering avenues for future research.