Louise Fitzgerald

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | UIUC · Department of Psychology

Computer-based test interpretations (CBTI) of the MMPI-2 are ubiquitous in forensic evaluations despite limited evidence that they are either reliable or valid. Not only are they unable to account for the test taker’s lived experiences, thus yielding generic narrative statements that may or may not be accurate, but the primary focus of CBTIs of the...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the harassment of vulnerable women whose lives and experiences remain largely unseen in the era of #MeToo. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws from the sparse empirical literature as well as the more informal accounts provided by social justice organizations, investigative journalists and leg...

We hypothesized that sexual harassment is part of a broader behavioral family including aggression and discrimination. We examined whether the relationships between these types of mistreatment can be represented well by a general factor that relates to other workplace variables. Evidence from military datasets showed that sexual harassment, sex dis...

Despite being illegal for more than half a century, sexual harassment remains today the most pervasive form of violence against women, often encompassing other forms of violence in its ambit. This stubborn and pernicious persistence rests largely on (1) a pervasive system of attitudes and beliefs, accruing over centuries and embedded in a variety o...

The present study examines the impact of previous sexual victimization on emotional distress in a sample of women (n = 492) involved in a sexual harassment class action lawsuit. Sexual harassment was found to predict symptoms of PTSD and general symptoms of anxiety, over and above the effects of previous victimization and other relevant personal va...

Various aspects of the judicial process have been hypothesized as damaging to sexual harassment plaintiffs, though limited research has been conducted that actually examines this hypothesis. We examined data from a large sample of women who participated in a class action lawsuit alleging workplace sexual harassment and discrimination (n = 1218) and...

Sexual harassment and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are two topics that generate heated debate in the social science literature. When the two are combined in the civil litigation context, the intensity of the debate is heightened by the adversarial context of the courts. The current paper examines research on both sexual harassment and PTSD...

Relatively few targets of sexual harassment cope with the psychological sequelae of their experiences by engaging in litigation. Those who do are often subjected to forensic examination to evaluate their history of psychological distress or disorder and to determine whether such a condition could be reasonably attributed to the alleged harassment,...

Researchers have compiled significant evidence demonstrating that sexual harassment leads to psychological harm, including the full symptom picture of PTSD, but few have examined the psychological processes involved. Research on attributions among trauma victims would suggest that causal attributions and perceptions of control may be important pred...

Many trauma researchers have proposed cognitive schemas as a heuristic device to understand the elusive process of integrating traumatic events. We examined the schemas of a sample (N = 257) of female participants classified by exposure to sexual trauma, nonsexual trauma, and no trauma experience. Cognitive schema was assessed with the Traumatic St...

The negative consequences for victims of sexual harassment are well documented. However, one area unexamined is the process that leads to harm. Researchers have proposed three influences (i.e., objective or stimulus factors, individual factors, and contextual factors) on the psychological, health-related, and organizational outcomes of sexual haras...

Researchers have proposed a variety of factors that influence the decision to seek legal relief in response to sexual harassment, but have generally failed to test these proposals empirically. The present study aims to address this gap by investigating the decision to join a class-action lawsuit. Participants were female professionals at a national...

Research on workplace harassment has typically examined either racial or sexual harassment, without studying both simultaneously. As a result, it remains unknown whether the co-occurrence of racial and sexual harassment or their interactive effects account for unique variance in work and psychological well-being. In this study, hierarchical linear...

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This report documents the scale development process and properties for the 2006 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Active Duty Members (WGRA2006). This report describes advances from previous surveys and presents results on scale development as obtained from respondents to this survey. The body of the report is comprised of a description of e...

This report documents the scale development process and properties for the 2005 Workplace and Equal Opportunity Survey of Active-Duty Members (WEOA2005). This report describes advances from previous surveys and presents results on scale development as obtained from respondents to this survey. The body of the report is comprised of a description of...

The purpose of this study was to examine primary appraisal of sexual harassment, that is, a victim's cognitive evaluation of the harassment and the factors that influence this appraisal. The perspectives of 72 female plaintiffs were investigated by measuring their primary appraisal of the event, examining the structure of this appraisal, and assess...

Effects of visual media on attitudes toward gay men and lesbians were investigated by exposing 3 groups of participants to a brief video. The first group viewed an anti-gay video. the second group viewed a pro-gay video, and a comparison group viewed a neutral video. Participants attitudes were measured immediately following the video after seeing...

The current study bridges literatures on sexual harassment, person-environment systems, and stress and appraisal processes. Conventional wisdom equates severity of sexual harassment with type of harassment. We test this notion empirically and posit a more comprehensive model that examines both person- and situation-level variables. Data came from 1...

Theories of sexual aggression and victimization have increasingly emphasized the role of rape myths in the perpetuation of sexual assault. Rape myths are attitudes and generally false beliefs about rape that are widely and persistently held, and that serve to deny and justify male sexual aggression against women. Acceptance of such myths has been a...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) factor analytic research to date has not provided a clear consensus on the structure of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Seven hypothesized factor structures were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, a paper-and-pencil measure of posttraumatic stress symptom...

Sexual harassment has consistently negative consequences for working women, including changes in job attitudes (e.g., lower satisfaction) and behaviors (e.g., increased work withdrawal). Cross-sectional evidence suggests that harassment influences turnover intentions. However, few studies have used actual turnover; rather, they rely on proxies. Wit...

Although sexual harassment in the workplace has received considerable attention, harassment in rental housing is a virtually unresearched phenomenon, despite informal data that it is widespread. This article reviews empirical data and legal remedies on sexual harassment in rental housing, comparing these with harassment in employment contexts. Usin...

The current study bridges literatures on sexual harassment, person-environment systems, and stress and appraisal processes. Conventional wisdom equates severity of sexual harassment with type of harassment. We test this notion empirically and posit a more comprehensive model that examines both person- and situation-level variables. Data came from 1...

Despite progress, protections remain inadequate for victims who bring legal claims of sexual harassment. The process for damages determination frequently increases harm and undercuts the policy initiatives enshrined in Title VII. The author critiques this process, focusing on misuse of psychological examinations and failure of the federal "rape shi...

In this study, we focused on the academic attainment of African American adolescents as they made the transition from pregnancy or recent delivery to 2 years postpartum. We examined the duration, characteristics, and effects of relationships that endured over 2 years postpartum, and the role of adolescents' mentor versus maternal support. Compared...

An extensive body of literature has documented the widespread and damaging nature of sexual harassment among Anglo women, but little attention has focused on the experiences of women of color. The current paper begins to address this gap by comparing sexual harassment incidence rates and psychological and work-related outcomes of Hispanic and non-H...

This study integrates findings from the Latin cultural literature and past sexual harassment re- search into a culturally relevant model of the sexual harassment process, framed by cognitive theories of stress and appraisal. Specifically, within a community sample of 184 harassed Latinas, we assessed both universal and culturally salient factors re...

Using data from 3 samples of working women and men, the present study examines the association between sexual harassment and eating disorder symptoms by studying the processes that may underlie this relationship. The results of structural equation modeling suggest a link between sexual harassment and eating disorder symptoms among women and indicat...

Using data from 3 samples of working women and men, the present study examines the association between sexual harassment and eating disorder symptoms by studying the processes that may underlie this relationship. The results of structural equation modeling suggest a link between sexual harassment and eating disorder symptoms among women and indicat...

This study places the reporting of sexual harassment within an integrated model of the sexual harassment process. Two structural models were developed and tested in a sample (N = 6,417) of male and female military personnel. The 1st model identifies determinants and effects of reporting; reporting did not improve--and at times worsened--job, psycho...

The current study examines experiences of interpersonal mistreatment in federal litigation among a random sample of 4,608 practicing attorneys. Using both quantitative and qualitative survey data, we documented the nature and interplay of general incivility, gender-related incivility, and unwanted sexual attention. Nearly 75% of female attorneys ha...

The role of trial judges in the litigation process is frequently debated. Are judges to be dispassionate adjudicators, disengaged referees in a sport in which attorneys compete? Or are they charged with a more active role in promoting the substance, form, and process of justice? In the present paper, we explore the judicial role in addressing gende...

Historically, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has been one of the leaders in researching sexual harassment. However, a major shortcoming of both DoD's research and that of the civilian sector is the absence of a standard method of assessing sexual harassment. This article describes how item response theory (IRT) procedures were applied to shor...

This study evaluates an experimental training program at a Midwestern police academy. In Study 1, one class of police recruits participated in a typical training protocol, and two classes attended the experimental program. Outcomes were compared with quantitative measures and qualitative analysis of performance in a simulated sexual assault intervi...

Although empirical investigations into the phenomenon of sexual harassment have increased exponentially over the past decade, many basic questions about the measurement of this construct remain unanswered. Most research has utilized an aggregate-level approach, which assesses the frequency of all offensive sex-related behaviors experienced by an in...

Recently, some defense-oriented authorities have proposed that a history of childhood sexual abuse can be used to attack virtually every aspect of a sexual harassment claimant's case, including the issues of unwelcomeness, reasonableness, damages, and even credibility. The authors critiqued these claims, arguing that they are not only grounded in f...

Research has consistently documented a discrepancy between experiencing offensive sex-related behaviors and labeling these situations as sexual harassment, leading to several attempts to understand this phenomenon. The authors propose that the issue of why it is that women who report such experiences generally do not indicate that they have been se...

Fifty-four male undergraduates (average age of 19.2, 74% Caucasian, 13% Asian American, 9% Hispanic, and 4% African American) participated in a rape prevention education program in which they listened to an audiotape of a man versus woman describing the experience of being raped (or they listened to no such audiotape). Two weeks later the students...

A series of six studies were conducted to explore the structure underlying rape myths and to develop the 45-item Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (''IRMA''). In the first study, 604 participants (mean age 18.8 years, 53% women) rated their level of agreement with 95 pretested rape myth statements. Exploratory and confir-matory multivariate analy...

Operationalizes organizational intolerance of sexual harassment (SH) in terms of specific organizational activities and examines the effectiveness of each such activity in minimizing these adverse effects. The article has 3 goals: (1) to propose a framework for understanding the range of organizational activities with regard to SH; (2) to discuss t...

Stimulated originally by the Navy's Tailhook episode in 1991, and more recently by revelations of widespread sexual harassment of female Army recruits, there appears to be a growing consensus that the harassment of female military personnel is a problem with profound consequences for both individuals and armed services more generally. At the same t...

Directly compared outcomes of sexual harassment for men and women utilizing data from the US Department of Defense's (1995) recent gender issues survey. Ss were 22,372 female and 5,924 male service members. 23 of the 26 Sexual Experiences Questionnaire—Department of Defense items were used as the composite measuring sexual harassment. The results o...

Examined the usefulness of the L. F. Fitzgerald et al (see record 1995-97373-004) theoretical model of sexual harassment in organizations for describing and explaining the predictors, extent, and outcomes of this problem in the uniformed services. According to the model, organizational tolerance for sexual harassment and the gender context of the w...

An extensive body of literature has documented the widespread and damaging nature of sexual harassment and assault on college campuses, yet little research has investigated the impact of such victimization on the academic climate. This study examined experiences of sexual harassment and assault among 1,037 female undergraduate and graduate students...

Research on sexual harassment has recently expanded to include examination of men's experiences. Such research, however, has ignored the power dynamics involved in sexual harassment and typically assumed exclusively heterosexual situations. We examine legal cases illustrating the many forms that male-male harassment may take and the complex array o...

Reports an error in the original article by G. E. Good et al ( Journal of Counseling Psychology , 1995 [Jan], Vol 42 [1], 3-10). On page 6, the numbers on line 2 for the Tucker-Lewis fit index should be .827 (Sample 2) and .830 (Sample 3). (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1995-15746-001 .) Two distinct deficits...

Sexual harassment of women in organizational settings has recently become a topic of interest to researchers and the general public alike. Although numerous studies document its frequency, the development of conceptual models identifying antecedents and consequences of harassment has proceeded at a slower pace. In this article, an empirical test of...

Previous evidence regarding the outcomes of sexual harassment in the workplace has come mainly from self-selected samples or analogue studies or those using inadequate measures. The sexual harassment experiences, coping responses, and job-related and psychological outcomes of 447 female private-sector employees and 300 female university employees w...

Despite the recent increase in research on sexual harassment, most studies have examined the relevant variables in isolation, and little is known concerning the ways in which they may interact or the relative importance of their effects for individuals or organizations. Fitzgerald and her colleagues (Fitzgerald, Hulin, & Drasgow. 1995; Fitzgerald &...

Research on sexual harassment as a prevalent job stressor has focused primarily on outcomes for the direct targets of harassment ; the antecedents and consequences of indirect exposure to sexual harassment have not been explored. Ambient Sexual Harassment is proposed as an assessment of indirect exposure to sexual harassment. Ambient Sexual Harassm...

provides an analysis of empirical definitions of sexual harassment / begin with a brief overview of the historical development of sexual harassment jurisprudence (i.e., legal definitions) and then provide a review of the frameworks that have guided survey construction (i.e., behavioral definitions) and the relationship of such instruments to legal...

Examined the relations between components of masculine gender role conflict and specific symptoms of psychological distress in a sample of men seeking counseling services. 130 male clients (aged 17–39 yrs) from 2 university counseling centers completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale and the Symptom Checklist-90—Revised. Participants reported modera...

A 50-item instrument was developed to assess attitudes toward multiple role planning. Instrument development was prompted by current social expectations that women participate fully in both career and family roles and the desire to investigate how women anticipate such role involvement. The reliability and validity of the five Attitudes Toward Mult...

building on broad theories of organizational climate and culture, this chapter examines the hypothesis that an organization's climate for sexual harassment is a critical antecedent to sexually harassing behavior and may be a direct contributor to negative outcomes beyond the personal experiences of sexual harassment / describe scale development of...

This article describes a program of research designed to yield a conceptually grounded, psychometrically sound instrument for assessing the incidence and prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace. Following the specification of a theoretical framework that is consistent with both legal guidelines and psychological research, we review the dev...

Sexual harassment is increasingly recognized as a serious social problem with important implications for individuals, organizations, and society as a whole. Despite increased research attention, fundamental conceptual issues remain unresolved. The present paper proposes that sexual harassment is a stable behavioral construct distinct from but relat...

The last few years have seen an increasing awareness of sexual harassment as an important social problem with serious implications for individuals and organizations alike, leading to increased attempts to understand how victims respond to this stressful and sometimes traumatic experience. The present article reviews the behavioral science research...

M. R. Burt (1980) concluded that acceptance of rape myths was strongly related to adversarial sexual beliefs, tolerance of interpersonal violence, and gender role stereotyping. However, the scales designed to assess these variables appear to share an emphasis on hostile attitudes toward women. Using alternative measures and 3 samples of undergradua...

Two distinct deficits in research on male gender role conflict are addressed: (a) lack of psychometric information and (b) lack of research involving clinical samples. First, using 1,043 men across 3 samples, the psychometric properties of the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) were examined through confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistency...

Two distinct deficits in research on male gender role conflict are addressed: (a) lack of psychometric information and (b) lack of research involving clinical samples. First, using 1,043 men across 3 samples, the psychometric properties of the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) were examined through confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistency...

Reviews the physical and psychological outcomes of male partner violence toward women. The authors begin with a description of injury patterns (e.g., repeated and multiple injuries to the breasts, chest, or abdomen, bruises, cuts, black eyes, concussions, broken bones, and other permanent injuries) that should alert clinicians to the presence of ph...

"No Safe Haven" provides a comprehensive . . . look at the pervasive nature of violence against women. It reviews current psychological research on the prevalence, causes, and effects of forms of violence against adult women and describes existing and recommended interventions, legal changes, and policy initiatives to address the problem. [The bo...

describe an integrated model of the antecedents and outcomes of sexual harassment in organizations / [begin] with a brief overview of legal and behavioral definitions / highlight the similarity of definitions of harassment to traditional conceptualizations of psychological stress / briefly summarize the literature concerning its prevalence, correla...

Sexual harassment has been a fixture of the workplace since women first began to work outside the home. Although true epidemiological studies do not exist, large-scale surveys of working women suggest that approximately 1 of every 2 women will be harassed at some point during their academic or working lives. The data indicate that harassment is deg...

This Psychology in the Public Forum section, authored by the American Psychological Association's Committee on Women in Psychology's Task Force on Male Violence Against Women and by Senator Joseph Biden, examines the prevalence, impact, and public policy dimensions of physical assault, sexual assault, and sexual harassment of women. This introducti...

This paper reviews aspects of the existing theoretical and data base relating to unemployment and mental health. The literature indicates that job loss has predictable effects on individual sense of well-being and, further, that the effects differ in particular populations related to variables such as age, gender, and occupational background. The l...

Reviews the prevalence and perceptions of sexual harassment (SH), discusses topics currently emerging as active areas of research, identifies those that continue to be neglected, and attempts to develop an integrated theoretical perspective. Victim response and coping behavior, and organizational factors and variables are 2 emerging areas. The only...

Both informal observation and considerable data confirm that men are less likely to seek psychotherapy than are women. This study examines the possibility that this reluctance to seek help (1) is related to traditional gender role socialization and (2) can be lessened by offering counseling interventions that are more congruent with that socializat...

This booklet on sexual harassment in higher education offers a history of the problem, defines sexual harassment, reviews the relevant legal history and recent court cases, and looks at campus policies and procedures. Following an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 looks at legal versus institutional definitions of sexual harassment and factors affect...

Two hundred eight faculty members and 314 graduate students located at a West Coast university were presented with 24 brief situations describing five types of sexual harassment in a university setting: gender harassment, seductive behavior, sexual bribery, sexual coercion, and sexual imposition or assault. The participants were randomly assigned t...

Practicing counselors and therapists ( N = 47) were randomly assigned to view one of two versions of a videotaped simulation of a depressed White male client, portrayed by a professional actor. The tapes were identical except for the client's occupational and family roles, which were portrayed as either gender-traditional or nontraditional. During...

Despite the growing attention devoted to the topic of sexual harassment in the vocational behavior literature, little formal theory has emerged, and, in fact, basic definitional issues remain unresolved. In the present study, 28 subjects completed 200 paired comparisons of situations describing sexual harassment in a university setting, and rated t...

Presents fourteenth annual review of professional literature on vocational behavior. Looks at several substantive areas of research: vocational choice, career development, decision making, interventions on career development and productivity, job search, industrial/organizational measurement issues, personnel issues, adjustment and development in o...

A transpersonal orientation to learning was detected in the writings of 89 well-known representatives of humanistic education. According to the transpersonal approach, schools and other learning environments should be used for the development of spiritual potential as well as academic, vocational, and socio-personal learning. Despite many studies a...

In a recent article, Fitzgerald and Osipow documented a trend away from academic settings and vocational psychology and toward private practice and more clinically oriented tasks (such as long-term psychotherapy) among members of Division 17. In this study we extended the exploration of this issue by examining the vocational aspirations of a nation...

Although much has been written concerning the sexual harassment of university students, no research has yet directly examined the behaviors of university professors themselves. The present study describes the responses of 235 male faculty members of a prestigious, research-oriented university who responded to a survey inquiring about social and sex...

Hayden's (1987) article concerning the merits of various "hypothesis-testing strategies" is critiqued on the grounds that he has not adequately defended the use of a "Level-4 concept" (Underwood, 1957). More parsimonious explanations for his result are developed and presented at a lower level of abstraction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA,...

Hayden's (1987) article concerning the merits of various "hypothesis-testing strategies" is critiqued on the grounds that he has not adequately defended the use of a "Level-4 concept" (Underwood, 1957). More parsimonious explanations for his result are developed and presented at a lower level of abstraction.