Structures of Oppressive Attitudes among Criminal Justice Majors: A Cross-National Analysis

This cross-national study examined the structure of oppressive attitudes among criminal justice majors in the United States and South Korea. Using survey data from 697 students across four universities in each country, eight attitudinal domains—prison rape myths, male and female rape myths, anti-incarcerated persons, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-sex work, anti-racial diversity, and anti-women’s equity—were analyzed through multivariate and cluster techniques. Results revealed consistent gender disparities and culturally patterned configurations of bias. Female students in both countries predominantly formed minimal explicit oppression clusters, while male students displayed greater polarization, with substantial proportions in high explicit oppression profiles marked by broad prejudicial endorsement. Cross-nationally, selective and single-issue clusters reflected distinct cultural and institutional norms. These findings suggest oppressive attitudes co-occur in patterned, context-specific configurations rather than as isolated beliefs, offering comparative evidence on how explicitly expressed oppressive attitudes are structured among criminal justice students and informing bias-awareness efforts in criminal justice education.