KNOWLEDGE VERSUS PERCEPTION: SOCIAL WORKERS' VIEW OF SEX OFFENDERS

Social workers comprise one of the leading professions who interact with sex offenders through means of treatment, as well as unexpected life events. The purpose of this study is to evaluate social workers’ knowledge of sex offender laws and how their knowledge impacts their thoughts and feelings ab...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Berger, Terisa M
Format: Others
Published: CSUSB ScholarWorks 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/537
https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1566&context=etd
Description
Summary:Social workers comprise one of the leading professions who interact with sex offenders through means of treatment, as well as unexpected life events. The purpose of this study is to evaluate social workers’ knowledge of sex offender laws and how their knowledge impacts their thoughts and feelings about working with sex offenders. Through a survey, social workers registered with the National Association of Social Work (NASW) in Southern California were asked to complete a questionnaire, in which addressed laws and thoughts in regards to sex offenders. One hundred surveys at random were evaluated. The study findings show a relationship between greater knowledge about the sex offender population and lower levels of apprehension a social worker has when working with a sex offender.