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Participants read one of eight public announcement vignettes and answered questions regarding their perceptions of individuals who sexually offend. Contrary to expectations, we found that participants continued to endorse negative perceptions toward these individuals irrespective of the label used, the victim\u2019s age, or the interaction of the label and the victim\u2019s age, suggesting that the labels were not perceived differently. In light of these null findings, adopting person-first language may not be enough to change societal attitudes toward individuals who sexually offend. Changing language should be considered when the goal is to treat individuals more humanely and to better align with trauma-informed and compassionate approaches when working with those who have been convicted of sexual offences.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.5964\/sotrap.17345","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]],"date-time":"2026-05-08T08:09:43Z","timestamp":1778227783000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5964\/psychopen.cmp","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Changing language may not be enough to change public perceptions of individuals who sexually offend"],"prefix":"10.5964","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Chella M.","family":"Robles","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Harleen","family":"Cheema","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karen","family":"Buro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sandy","family":"Jung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1941","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"r1","unstructured":"American Psychological Association. 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J. R., & Hanson, R. K. (2004). Sexual offender recidivism: A simple question (Corrections User Report No 2004\u201301). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. https:\/\/www.publicsafety.gc.ca\/cnt\/rsrcs\/pblctns\/sx-ffndr-rcdvsm\/index-en.aspx"},{"key":"r20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1079063214564391"},{"key":"r21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0093854812443648"},{"key":"r22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijlcj.2023.100607"},{"key":"r23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1057\/s41599-023-01542-z"},{"key":"r24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/lhb0000308"},{"key":"r25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10508-014-0439-3"},{"key":"r26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10508-022-02331-6"},{"key":"r27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10508-014-0312-4"},{"key":"r28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1078390313489729"},{"key":"r29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jung, S. (2022). 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