Canadian correctional program officers facilitating programming for sex offenders: The stickiness of stigma.

Rosemary Ricciardelli, Dale Spencer, Micheal P Taylor

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Forensic science international. Synergy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

The Person Behind the Crime: Life Stories of Women and Men Who Committed Sexual Crimes.Sexual abuse : a journal of research and treatment · 2026
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Rosemary RicciardelliSchool of Maritime Studies, Fisheries and Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Dale SpencerDepartment of Law and Society, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Micheal P TaylorSchool of Maritime Studies, Fisheries and Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The stigma of being convicted (or suspected) of sex-related offenses is long recognized, resulting in people being viewed as being the most abhorrent of offenders. Sex offenders (SOs) have been studied, as well as the parole and correctional officers who work with them. Yet, despite their centralized role in prisoner rehabilitation, correctional program officers (CPOs) facilitating programs to SOs have yet to be examined in relation to their interpretations of SOs and of prison culture around SOs. Drawing on interviews with 12 CPOs who have delivered SO-focused programming to groups of SOs exclusively, we unpack the stigma and label of SOs in institutions and the community, the perceived implications of stigmatization on SO and CPOs, and on their ability to complete programs safely and successfully. Our findings reveal i) SOs remain stigmatized with repercussion for reintegration opportunities; ii) SOs remain at the bottom of the prisoner hierarchy; iii) SOs require support to physically attend programs; and iv) the SO stigma sticks to people facilitating sex offender programs. Findings are discussed in relation to stigma theories but also considerations for program delivery and CPO education and wellness are put forth.

Indexed as

Convict/inmate codeCorrectional program officersCorrectional servicesSex offendersStigma

Identifiers

PMID41635528

DOI10.1016/j.fsisyn.2025.100639

PMCPMC12862141

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.