Some crime control policies are ineffective, yet still draw substantial public support. Such laws, labeled "crime control theater" (CCT), derive their unquestioned public support from moral panics involving mythic narratives, yet little research has actually linked these criteria to support for a theater law. This study draws on the concept of CCT to better understand public perceptions of sex offender residence restrictions. Specifically, it evaluates what community member beliefs and or characteristics increase the likelihood that residence restrictions will be perceived as an effective law to decrease sex crime recidivism. Drawing on data from a national random sample of Americans, logistic regression is used to analyze the factors associated with this CCT law. Results indicate that if community members are Catholic, are a parent of a minor child, and believe in stranger danger, they are more likely to believe that residence restrictions are effective in reducing sex crime recidivism. Results are discussed in relation to residence restrictions as a CCT law, including the deleterious effects of residence restrictions and possible pathways to prevent the persistence of this law.

Very little is known about co-offending by female sexual offenders (FSOs), especially in terms of diverse forms of offender groupings. To address this gap in the literature, this study uses 21 years (1992-2012) of National Incident-Based Reporting System data to analyze incidents of sexual offending committed by four female groupings: solo FSOs ( n = 29,238), coed pairs consisting of one male and one FSO ( n = 11,112), all-female groups ( n = 2,669), and multiple perpetrator groups that consist of a combination of three or more FSOs and male sexual offenders (MSOs; n = 4,268). Using a multinomial logistic regression model, the data show significant differences in offender, victim, and crime context incident characteristics. The data also indicate that incidents with solo FSOs and all-female groups have similar characteristics, coed pairs and multiple perpetrator incidents have similar characteristics, and these two categorizations are fairly distinct from one another. Implications of this research are discussed in addition to directions for future research on female sexual offending.

Statutory rape is an important yet understudied topic. There is broad public support for the prosecution of older adults who engage in sexual relationships with minors regardless of perceptions of consent by either party. However, some scholars worry that expansive definitions within these laws have led to the widespread involvement of the justice system in the lives of similarly aged teenagers engaging in relatively normal sexual behavior, so called "Romeo and Juliet" liaisons. This, in turn, has called into question the legitimacy of national policies, such as sex offender registration, because of the presumption that registries are likely filled with these kinds of cases which may not represent the intent of legislatures and the public. Despite the importance of these debates, there is little research assessing the prevalence of Romeo and Juliet cases in official crime statistics or that analyze differences in characteristics of statutory rape as a function of victim-offender age differences. Drawing on more than 20 years of police data from over 6,000 police departments in the United States, this study found statutory rape cases were rare and Romeo and Juliet cases were even rarer. Multivariate models showed several distinctions between statutory rape cases as a function of the age differences between victim and offender. Of note, the odds that additional forms of sexual aggression occurred in the incident grew as the age difference expanded.

It is presumed that public opposition to sex offender treatment derives from the "nothing works" philosophy. However, few studies have systematically unpacked perceptions about sex offender treatment. Drawing on national poll data, this study uses multinomial logistic regression to identify predictors of treatment views. Results indicate that misperceptions about sex crimes, particularly the belief in "stranger danger" and offense amplification, reduce support for treatment. Parents with children under age 17 were less likely to approve of treatment efforts, because they did not believe the treatment research. Separately, belief in high sex offender recidivism was associated with a greater likelihood of not sure responses about treatment. In contrast, desiring more information about how to prevent sexual offending increased support for interventions. Implications are discussed.

The stigma of childhood obesity has the potential to affect psychological development during the early life course, but few studies examine whether experiencing stigma in childhood and adolescence has lasting ramifications for mental health during the transition to adulthood. Integrating modified labeling theory with a life course perspective, this study examined how obesity at different ages affects psychological distress in late adolescence using longitudinal data on black and white girls. We tested whether parent or friend labeling mediates this relationship and whether distal effects on psychological distress are further mediated through proximal distress using data from the National Growth and Health Study (n = 2,379). Findings showed significant proximal and distal effects of obesity on psychological distress through both parent and friend labeling among white girls. Distal effects on psychological distress were also mediated by proximal psychological distress. Among black girls, there were no distal effects, suggesting weight-based stigma is more consequential for white girls compared to black girls.