Are the Collateral Consequences of Being a Registered Sex Offender as Bad as We Think? A Methodological Research Note

Empirical research on the collateral consequences of sex offender registries on offenders' lives has provided researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with evidence that registries are associated with unintended harm to sexual offenders such as harassment, loss of employment, difficulty finding housing, and personal distress. The methodologies of these studies, however, haave two major limitations. The authors describe the limitations and suggest methodological approaches that would address them.