Development and Psychometric Properties of the Concerns about Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and Notification Questionnaire (C-JSORNQ)

Introduction: Juvenile sex offender registration and notification (JSORN) is widespread, yet research does not support its positive effects on the larger community. On the contrary, JSORN may be associated with unintended iatrogenic effects on registered adolescents. To better evaluate such effects, there is a need for valid measurement specific to JSORN. Methods: The Concerns about Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and Notification Questionnaire (C-JSORNQ) was developed to measure an adolescent’s concerns associated with requirements to register as a sex offender. The current study is the first to test the psychometric properties of the C-JSORNQ. Analyses were informed by data collected from 2009 to 2015 from 269 detained male adolescents adjudicated for illegal sexual behavior. Results: Results indicated three C-JSORNQ factors: Concerns about Family Reactions, Concerns about Peer Reactions, and Concerns about Other Adult Reactions. Factors demonstrated appropriate divergent and convergent validity. Furthermore, the C-JSORNQ displayed adequate internal validity and test-retest reliability. Conclusions: JSORN has harmful effects; measurement of the concerns about JSORN requirements reflect an important advance in better understanding and measuring long-term impacts of JSORN. Policy Implications: Within a policy setting, stakeholders invested in best practices benefit from research on the actual effects of policies. The availability of a validated measure should promote more research on the effects of JSORN, results of which could be used to inform policy.