What predicts punitiveness? An examination of predictors of punitive attitudes towards offenders in Australia
A widespread public preference for harsher sentencing (punitiveness) has been documented in a range of national and international studies. The present study examines the relative predictive power of a set of factors most commonly linked with punitiveness. This study is based on the responses given i...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32742 |
| _version_ | 1848753747655655424 |
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| author | Spiranovic, C. Roberts, Lynne Indermaur, D. |
| author_facet | Spiranovic, C. Roberts, Lynne Indermaur, D. |
| author_sort | Spiranovic, C. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | A widespread public preference for harsher sentencing (punitiveness) has been documented in a range of national and international studies. The present study examines the relative predictive power of a set of factors most commonly linked with punitiveness. This study is based on the responses given in the largest Australian survey to date of public attitudes to punishment (N = 6005). A combined hierarchical multiple regression model comprising demographic variables, media usage variables, and crime salience variables accounted for a significant 30% of variance in scores for punitiveness. The three variables that emerged as the strongest predictors of punitive attitudes were: perceptions of crime levels; education; and reliance on tabloid/commercial media for news and information. The results have direct implications for how we understand the persistent public preference for punishment and what might be required to ameliorate or respond to that preference. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:29:26Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-32742 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:29:26Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-327422017-09-13T15:26:48Z What predicts punitiveness? An examination of predictors of punitive attitudes towards offenders in Australia Spiranovic, C. Roberts, Lynne Indermaur, D. A widespread public preference for harsher sentencing (punitiveness) has been documented in a range of national and international studies. The present study examines the relative predictive power of a set of factors most commonly linked with punitiveness. This study is based on the responses given in the largest Australian survey to date of public attitudes to punishment (N = 6005). A combined hierarchical multiple regression model comprising demographic variables, media usage variables, and crime salience variables accounted for a significant 30% of variance in scores for punitiveness. The three variables that emerged as the strongest predictors of punitive attitudes were: perceptions of crime levels; education; and reliance on tabloid/commercial media for news and information. The results have direct implications for how we understand the persistent public preference for punishment and what might be required to ameliorate or respond to that preference. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32742 10.1080/13218719.2011.561766 Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law restricted |
| spellingShingle | Spiranovic, C. Roberts, Lynne Indermaur, D. What predicts punitiveness? An examination of predictors of punitive attitudes towards offenders in Australia |
| title | What predicts punitiveness? An examination of predictors of punitive attitudes towards offenders in Australia |
| title_full | What predicts punitiveness? An examination of predictors of punitive attitudes towards offenders in Australia |
| title_fullStr | What predicts punitiveness? An examination of predictors of punitive attitudes towards offenders in Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | What predicts punitiveness? An examination of predictors of punitive attitudes towards offenders in Australia |
| title_short | What predicts punitiveness? An examination of predictors of punitive attitudes towards offenders in Australia |
| title_sort | what predicts punitiveness? an examination of predictors of punitive attitudes towards offenders in australia |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32742 |