Date of Conferral

9-25-2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Human Services

Advisor

Andrew Carpenter

Abstract

Individuals convicted of sex offenses who require registration with criminal justice authorities are called registrants. Spouses and significant others of registrants suffer many of the same collateral consequences because of their association with the registrant. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand the perceptions held by spouses and significant others of sex offender registrants regarding their social support and support engagement when navigating through the impact of the sex offender registry. The theoretical framework for this study was Doka’s disenfranchised grief theory. The data were collected from six anonymous individuals who were spouses or significant others of sex offender registrants. Survey Monkey was used to collect the survey responses and organize the research data. There were 10 open ended questions that focused on social support. The participant supplied narratives were coded using contextual analysis. The results highlighted the perceptions held by spouses or significant others and insights related to their existential sense of loss, shame, and social isolation. The spouses collectively shared loss of friendships, neighbors cutting off communication, excommunication from church, and their family. Providing social support to spouses and significant others of registrants is a humanistic need that could enhance their quality of life while navigating the effects of the registry. If social support is enhanced in communities where spouses and significant others of registrants reside, this could lead to positive social change by socially change how this population is viewed around the country.

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