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Peer Sexual Harassment and Disordered Eating in Early Adolescence

American Psychological Association
Developmental Psychology
Authors:
Jennifer Petersen at University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Jennifer Petersen
Janet Hyde at University of Wisconsin–Madison
Janet Hyde
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Abstract

Peer sexual harassment is a pervasive problem in schools and is associated with a variety of negative mental health outcomes. Objectification theory suggests that sexual attention in the form of peer harassment directs unwanted attention to the victim's body and may lead to a desire to alter the body via disordered eating. In the current study, we used latent growth modeling with a sample of 406 U.S. adolescents to examine the relationship between longitudinal trends in peer sexual harassment from 5th to 9th grade and disordered eating in 9th grade. Longitudinal trends in self-surveillance were proposed as a mediator of the relationships. Results indicated that the relationship between upsetting sexual harassment at 5th grade and disordered eating symptoms at 9th grade was mediated by self-surveillance at 5th grade. Girls reported more upsetting sexual harassment, more self-surveillance, and thus more disordered eating than boys did. These results are in accord with objectification theory, which proposes that sexual harassment is a form of sexual objectification and may lead to self-surveillance and disordered eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
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Peer Sexual Harassment and Disordered Eating in Early Adolescence
Jennifer L. Petersen
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Janet S. Hyde
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Peer sexual harassment is a pervasive problem in schools and is associated with a variety of negative
mental health outcomes. Objectification theory suggests that sexual attention in the form of peer
harassment directs unwanted attention to the victim’s body and may lead to a desire to alter the body via
disordered eating. In the current study, we used latent growth modeling with a sample of 406 U.S.
adolescents to examine the relationship between longitudinal trends in peer sexual harassment from 5th
to 9th grade and disordered eating in 9th grade. Longitudinal trends in self-surveillance were proposed
as a mediator of the relationships. Results indicated that the relationship between upsetting sexual harass-
ment at 5th grade and disordered eating symptoms at 9th grade was mediated by self-surveillance at 5th grade.
Girls reported more upsetting sexual harassment, more self-surveillance, and thus more disordered eating than
boys did. These results are in accord with objectification theory, which proposes that sexual harassment is a
form of sexual objectification and may lead to self-surveillance and disordered eating.
Keywords: disordered eating, body image, body esteem, sexual harassment, objectification theory
More than 80% of students in Grades 8 through 11 in the United
States have reported that they have been victims of some form of
sexual harassment during their school lives (American Association
of University Women [AAUW], 2001; Petersen & Hyde, 2009).
Victims of peer sexual harassment are also likely to report depres-
sion (Nadeem & Graham, 2005), anxiety (Nishina & Juvonen,
2005), low body esteem (Lindberg, Grabe, & Hyde, 2007), and
reduced academic performance (AAUW, 2001; Duffy, Wareham,
& Walsh, 2004). Sexual harassment may be particularly harmful
among adolescents because it is associated with problems in the
development of healthy body esteem and healthy eating habits
(Harned & Fitzgerald, 2002).
The current study described developmental trends in peer sexual
harassment and examined the relationship between trends in peer
sexual harassment and disordered eating behaviors. Disordered
eating includes unhealthy eating behaviors such as avoiding eating
when one is hungry and vomiting after eating. These unhealthy
eating behaviors are associated with negative physical and mental
health including fatigue, anemia, amenorrhea, and depression
(Yeager, Agostini, Nattiv, & Drinkwater, 1993). Furthermore, the
research investigated self-objectification as a mediator of the re-
lationship of peer sexual harassment to disordered eating.
Objectification Theory
Objectification theory states that Western society has developed
a culture in which the human body, particularly the female body,
is an object to be looked at and evaluated (Fredrickson & Roberts,
1997; McKinley & Hyde, 1996). This type of objectification from
others may occur in a variety of forms including sexual harass-
ment. Objectification theory states that victims of repeated sexual
objectification, such as upsetting sexual harassment, eventually
internalize the observer’s perspective and evaluate themselves in
terms of their outward appearance (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997;
McKinley & Hyde, 1996). Therefore, victims of objectification
from others begin to view themselves as objects to be looked at, a
process that objectification theory refers to as “self-
objectification” (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; McKinley & Hyde,
1996). McKinley and Hyde coined the term objectified body con-
sciousness (OBC) to refer to one’s self-objectification. Although
OBC has several components, the driving force behind body
objectification is self-surveillance (Lindberg et al., 2007; Noll &
Fredrickson, 1998). Self-surveillance refers to the concept of view-
ing oneself as an outsider would, by making self-evaluations about
one’s appearance. Although self-surveillance often leads to a neg-
ative evaluation of one’s appearance, it is not the same as body
dissatisfaction; rather, it is the cognitive component of mental
preoccupation with one’s physical appearance.
Objectification theory argues that individuals who self-objectify
focus their attention on an ideal physical appearance, which they
are unable to attain and which may be linked to negative outcomes
such as disordered eating (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). In sup-
port of this argument McKinley and Hyde (1996) found that
women who rated themselves high on the self-surveillance scale
were also likely to diet and restrict their eating. Fredrickson,
Roberts, Noll, Quinn, and Twenge (1998) manipulated self-
objectification experimentally by having participants try on a
swimsuit. Participants wearing the swimsuit demonstrated in-
creased body shame and more restrained eating behavior in com-
parison to other participants who wore a sweater. Together these
studies suggest a link between self-objectification and disordered
eating.
This article was published Online First April 30, 2012.
Jennifer L. Petersen, Educational Foundations, College of Education
and Professional Studies, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater; Janet S.
Hyde, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
This research was supported by a grant from the Graduate School of the
University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jennifer
L. Petersen, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, 800 West Main Street,
Whitewater, WI 53190. E-mail: petersej@uww.edu
Developmental Psychology © 2012 American Psychological Association
2013, Vol. 49, No. 1, 184–195 0012-1649/12/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0028247
184
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
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... According to the theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) and existing literature on older adolescents (Li & Craig, 2020;Petersen & Hyde, 2013;Sagrestano et al., 2019), young people's experiences of peer sexual harassment, low appearance esteem, and emotional problems are closely linked with each other in a chain of successive processes that occur over time. More specifically, it is proposed that being exposed to peer sexual harassment will generate increased emotional problems through the mediation of low appearance esteem or similar body image related variables. ...
... As a final step, Objectification theory suggests that, over time, self-objectification and self-surveillance, together with their adverse consequences of body shame and appearance anxiety, contribute to girls' and women's higher risk of mental health problems (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Supporting the link between exposure to sexual objectification and later emotional problems, longitudinal research has found that 11-18-year-old US American and Swedish girls exposed to peer sexual harassment are at increased risk of emotional problems and disordered eating (Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Petersen & Hyde, 2013;Skoog & Kapetanovic, 2023). Among 12-18-year-old Swedish boys, research has found an association between peer sexual harassment and emotional problems cross-sectionally, although weaker for boys than for girls (Skoog & Kapetanovic, 2023). ...
... More specifically, the aim of this study was to test a model proposing that peer sexual harassment at age 10 years will predict more emotional problems at age 12 years, and that appearance esteem at age 11 years will mediate this relationship, while also controlling for pubertal timing (see Figure 1). Based on previous research (Petersen & Hyde, 2013;Skoog & Kapetanovic, 2023), we hypothesized that the model would be more strongly supported among girls. In addition, more girls than boys will have entered puberty at the targeted age (Aksglaede et al., 2008), indicating that the processes described by Objectification theory may be further developed among the girls. ...
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... SHA among adolescents, referring to subjectively uncomfortable or unwanted sexualized experiences of verbal, non-verbal, or physical character (Mountjoy et al., 2016) is concerning for both adolescent athletes and nonathletes (Bendixen et al., 2018;Sølvberg et al., 2022). There is a well-established association between SHA victimization and negative mental health outcomes in the general adolescent population (Bendixen et al., 2018;Chiodo et al., 2009;Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Gruber & Fineran, 2008;Hébert et al., 2021;Li et al., 2016;Petersen & Hyde, 2013), but limited research regarding this association in sports. For athletes, mental health outcomes after experiencing SHA are mainly based on adult samples, cross-sectional and qualitative studies, as well as studies without comparison groups (Fasting et al., 2002;Ohlert et al., 2019;Reardon et al., 2019;Vertommen et al., 2018). ...
... One study among adolescent athletes showed an association between sexual violence and lower self-esteem, higher psychological distress, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (Parent et al., 2021). Among general adolescents, SHA victimization is associated with lower self-esteem and well-being, symptoms of depression and anxiety, self-harm, traumatic symptoms, negative body image, and disordered eating (Bendixen et al., 2018;Chiodo et al., 2009;Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Gruber & Fineran, 2008;Hébert et al., 2021;Li et al., 2016;Petersen & Hyde, 2013). The association between experiences of SHA and disordered eating/eating disorders may be explained by several pathways, primarily one pathway concerning body perceptions and one pathway concerning coping with psychological difficulties (Madowitz et al., 2015). ...
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... There is substantial cross-sectional data supporting expanded objectification theory as an explanation of how sexual harassment in offline settings contributes to negative mental health outcomes (Calogero et al., 2021;Hayes et al., 2021) and personal safety anxiety (Calogero et al., 2021). However, longitudinal evidence supporting the predicted temporal antecedence of objectification variables is mixed; whereas some studies support predictions (Grabe et al., 2007;Petersen & Hyde, 2013), others do not (Kilpela et al., 2019;Slater & Tiggemann, 2012). ...
... or higher). Past studies providing empirical support for objectification theory over time have typically used longer time frames (e.g., 2-4 years; Grabe et al., 2007;Petersen & Hyde, 2013). At present, issues related to the timing, direction, and reciprocity of objectification processes are not well understood. ...
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... One study found that adolescent females (ages 10-17) who experienced cyber sexual harassment, relative to their non-victimized peers, were approximately 3 and 5 times more likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively (Reed et al., 2019). Sexual harassment victimization in early adolescence has also been shown to predict maladaptive dieting and disordered eating, especially in females (Chiodo et al., 2009;Petersen & Hyde, 2013). Further, sexual harassment victimization has been tied to substance misuse (Bucchianeri et al., 2014;Edwards et al., 2021;Gruber & Fineran, 2008;Reed et al., 2019;Ybarra et al., 2007) and risky sexual behavior (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2018). ...
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