Development of the Attitudes Toward Partners of People who have Sexually Offended Questionnaire (APPSO)

Non-offending partners of those who have sexually offended face severe negative consequences in the aftermath of an offence, many of which are directly linked to their negative interactions with others – including intervening agencies. Despite this, the only available measure of attitudes towards non-offending partners has several shortcomings and, as a result, attitudes towards 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 towards Partners of People who have Sexually Offended (APPSO). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that attitudes towards non-offending partners have four underlying dimensions: (1) Judgement of non-offending partners’ relationship decision-making, (2) behavioural intent towards 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 hold more favourable attitudes towards non-offending partners (i.e., score lower on the measure), than a general population sample, and that negative attitudes towards non-offending partners predicted intent to discriminate—but not behavioural aggression—towards this group. These findings are discussed, alongside the limitations of this research, in light of their implications and while considering avenues for future research.