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Risk Factors of Sexual Harassment by Peers: A Longitudinal Investigation of African American and European American Adolescents
Abstract
The present research explores risk factors for, and longitudinal associations of, sexual harassment by peers during adolescence. Eight-hundred and seventy-two African American and European American adolescents (65.4% African American, 51.1% females) were assessed during the summer after the eighth grade (mean age=14.2 years) and then again in the 11th grade (mean age=17.1 years). At the first assessment, adolescents were asked about their experiences with sexual harassment, their psychological reactions to sexual harassment, and also about their peer relationships, perceived pubertal timing, problem behavior, and mental health. At the second assessment, adolescents reported on their problem behavior and mental health. In general, youth who associated with peers who were involved in problem behavior were at risk for victimization. Among females, those who perceived themselves to be experiencing early pubertal development were also at risk. Additionally, for some adolescents, sexual harassment predicted later adjustment difficulties.
... RR = Relative Risk; CI = confidence interval *p < 0.05 ** p < 0.01 *** p < 0.001 ethnic minority group than it was for non-ethnic minority adolescents. Previous research has shown that compared to African American Europeans, European Americans had greater risk for experiencing depressive symptoms following sexual harassment [34]. There is limited longitudinal research on racial differences following sexual victimization amongst adolescents [34]. ...
... Previous research has shown that compared to African American Europeans, European Americans had greater risk for experiencing depressive symptoms following sexual harassment [34]. There is limited longitudinal research on racial differences following sexual victimization amongst adolescents [34]. Generally, there is mixed evidence of racial differences which could be based on how ethnicities are grouped, thus there would be diversity within the race groups that is unaccounted for [34]. ...
... There is limited longitudinal research on racial differences following sexual victimization amongst adolescents [34]. Generally, there is mixed evidence of racial differences which could be based on how ethnicities are grouped, thus there would be diversity within the race groups that is unaccounted for [34]. Risk factors differ across ethnic groups, and there are cultural variations for overall mental wellbeing [35]. ...
Adolescent sexual violence is a serious public health concern that may have lasting impacts on the survivor, yet limited longitudinal research on the behavioural and mental health outcomes following sexual victimization exists. To describe the long-term behavioural and mental health outcomes associated with sexual victimization at 14 years of age, and whether these outcomes differed by sex, sexual orientation, and ethnic minority status. This prospective study used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative, longitudinal cohort study of children born in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2002. Sexual victimization was self-reported when cohort members were 14 years of age, and outcomes (self-harm, suicide attempt, distress, alcohol use, binge drinking, smoking, vaping, and illicit substance consumption) were measured at age 17. Sexual victimization at age 14 was associated with poorer mental health, binge drinking, smoking regularly, vaping, and illicit drug use at age 17. Mental health outcomes differed by sex and these associations were stronger for males than females (self-harm: males RR = 2.4,95%CI: 1.55–3.79, females RR = 1.3,95%CI: 1.10–1.63; distress: males RR = 3.3,95%CI: 1.73-6.24, females RR = 1.4,95%CI: 1.08–1.75). Compared to non-victimized heterosexual adolescents, victimized heterosexual adolescents had nearly twice the risk of self-harm (RR = 1.87,95%CI: 1.40–2.46) and distress (RR = 2.09,95%CI: 1.46–2.96). Victimized adolescents belonging to an ethnic minority group showed three times the risk of distress (RR = 3.35,95%CI: 1.70–6.61) and non-ethnic minorities were more likely to vape (RR = 1.56, 95%CI:1.08–2.25). Adolescents who experience sexual victimization are at increased risk of poorer mental health later in adolescence.
... The remaining studies were conducted in Canada (n = 3), Israel (n = 1), Finland (n = 4), Sweden (n = 3), and Taiwan (n = 1). Five studies were longitudinal (Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Goldstein et al., 2007;Petersen & Hyde, 2009;Schnoll et al., 2015;Tillyer et al., 2010), and examined whether correlates measured earlier predict later SH. The remaining studies (n = 15) used cross-sectional designs. ...
... In terms of the measures used, one study employed a single item (i.e., whether the respondent received unwelcome sexual remarks from someone during the current school year while at school; Tillyer et al., 2010), while the remainder measured SH using between two and 14 items. Twelve studies (from nine samples) measured SH experienced from any perpetrator (Clear et al., 2014;Fineran & Bennett, 1999;Fineran & Bolen, 2006;Goldstein et al., 2007;Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016aMitchell et al., 2014;Skoog & Bayram Özdemir, 2016aTillyer et al., 2010), while eight measured SH from at least one peer in the school setting (Attar-Schwartz, 2009;Buchanan & McDougall, 2017;Cunningham et al., 2010;Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Petersen & Hyde, 2009;Schnoll et al., 2015;Wei & Chen, 2012;Williams et al., 2009). One study used the term "sexual bullying" which specifically focused on peer-perpetrated SH (Cunningham et al., 2010). ...
... Among both boys and girls, this association was mediated by having a physically mature appearance and involvement in sexual activities. Two longitudinal studies examined pubertal timings' association with SH (Goldstein et al., 2007;Petersen & Hyde, 2009). Results from Goldstein et al. (2007) showed an association between early pubertal timing and SH victimization, but only among boys. ...
Sexual harassment (SH) is an important public health problem among adolescents and is associated with negative outcomes. Using a theory‐based, developmentally‐informed approach, this scoping review focuses on SH victimization among adolescents (number of studies included = 20) and aims to (1) examine how the extant literature on correlates of SH defined and measured SH, and (2) identify correlates associated with SH victimization among adolescents, focusing particularly on differences between boys and girls. For the first objective, results showed variations in the definition of SH used, with very few studies employing validated measures of SH. For the second objective, the most frequently examined and supported correlates were those stemming from transactional models. Important gender differences in correlates emerged between boys and girls. Among girls' previous victimization experiences emerged as the most consistent correlates of SH, while among boys, adherence to gender role norms and beliefs and higher perception of personal power were most consistently associated with higher SH victimization. Prevention of SH needs to include youth, teachers, and parents as the results show the influence of all these social contexts in SH victimization. These prevention efforts should target groups at higher risk of SH, such as sexual and gender minority youth.
... Tverrsnittstudier viser at seksuell trakassering blant ungdom er signifikant assosiert med en rekke negative helseutfall som rusmisbruk og selvskading (Bucchianeri et al., 2014), lavere selvtillit (Bendixen et al., 2018;Bucchianeri et al., 2014) og redusert livskvalitet og symptomer på angst og depresjon (Bendixen et al., 2018;Bucchianeri et al., 2014;Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Lichty & Campbell, 2012). Funn fra longitudinelle studier viser at seksuell trakassering kan vaere en direkte årsak til depressive symptomer (Chiodo et al., 2009;Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Goldstein et al., 2007). Flere studier viser imidlertid at jenter som utsettes for seksuell trakassering, i større grad enn gutter, rapporterer om depressive symptomer (Bendixen et al., 2018;Bucchianeri et al., 2014;Dahlqvist et al., 2012). ...
... Studien viser at seksuell trakassering kan måles på ulike måter og at de ulike typene for seksuell trakassering vil kunne variere i både form og grad. Tidligere studier viser også at alder (Petersen & Hyde, 2009), sosioøkonomisk status (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016) og innvandrerbakgrunn (Clear et al., 2014;Goldstein et al., 2007) hadde en betydning for hvem som blir utsatt for seksuell trakassering. ...
... Forekomsten av seksuell trakassering økte fra 8. trinn til 10. trinn, det vil si fra 13 til 16 års alder, og var deretter stabil. At seksuell trakassering er mer vanlig blant de eldste tenåringene er også vist i andre studier (Goldstein et al., 2007;Hafstad & Augusti, 2019;Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016;Petersen & Hyde, 2009). At seksuell trakassering øker tidlig i tenårene kan sees i sammenheng med den kroppslige utviklingen som foregår i denne perioden og at endringene bidrar til at kropp får stadig større oppmerksomhet (Illeris et al., 2009;Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016). ...
Seksuell trakassering blant ungdom er et utbredt fenomen i ungdomsårene som er relativt lite undersøkt. Målet med studien er å undersøke forekomsten av seksuell trakassering og hvordan seksuell trakassering henger sammen med depressive symptomer blant norske tenåringer. I tillegg ønsker vi å undersøke om gode relasjoner ungdom har til foreldre, venner og skole har betydning for sammenhengen mellom seksuell trakassering og depressive symptomer. Dataene er hentet fra tverrsnittsundersøkelsen Ung i Oslo 2018 (n = 22 125), gjennomført blant elever fra ungdoms- og videregående skoler. Seksuell trakassering ble kartlagt gjennom spørsmål om beføling, verbal seksuell trakassering og ryktespredning. Depressive symptomer ble målt ved hjelp av Hopkins Symptoms Checklist. Studien viser at 26,5 % av guttene og 36,1 % av jentene var utsatt for én eller flere former for seksuell trakassering minst én gang de siste tolv månedene. Både for gutter og jenter var det en klar sammenheng mellom seksuell trakassering og selvrapporterte depressive symptomer. Blant ungdom med dårlige relasjoner til foreldrene sine og til skolen, var sammenhengen mellom seksuell trakassering og depressive symptomer sterkere enn blant ungdom med gode relasjoner til foreldre og skole.
... As girls tend to benefit more from higher social support and suffer more when such support is lacking compared with boys (Crevier, Marchand, Nachar, & Guay, 2014;Morrison, 2009;Sifers, 2011), we anticipate that the hypothesized negative relationship between support from family or school and susceptibility to peer influence is greater in girls than in boys. Additionally, based on the research discussed above showing that girls experience increased deleterious implications of relational aggression and sexual harassment as compared with boys (Crick, 1995;Goldstein et al. 2007;Goldstein & Tisak, 2006;Paquette & Underwood, 1999), we anticipate that girls who are highly susceptible to peer influence will be at higher risk for involvement in these forms of harassment compared with boys (H5). GOLDSTEIN ET AL. | 5 6 | METHOD ...
... by Goldstein et al. (2007). Both scales had three items each; adolescents responded to all sexual harassment questions using a 4-point scale, ranging from 1 (never) through 4 (five or more times). ...
... These forms of aggression have not previously been explored with regard to their links with susceptibility to peer influence. Given the gendered nature of both forms of harassment, in addition to the well-documented findings regarding gender differences for social support, relational aggression, and sexual harassment (Crevier et al., 2014;Goldstein et al., 2007;Goldstein & Tisak, 2010;Morrison, 2009;Sifers, 2011), gender moderation was tested with regard to both main research questions. ...
The present study explores concurrent relations between social support, gender, susceptibility to peer influence, and peer‐based aggression and harassment in a socioeconomically and racially diverse sample of 774 seventh and eighth grade students. Results indicate that students perceiving lower support from their family or school were relatively more likely to be highly susceptible to peer influence, and to have friends who they believed were also highly susceptible to peer influence. Further, higher susceptibility to peer influence was associated with increased involvement in relational aggression and sexual harassment, both as a perpetrator and as a victim. Gender moderation effects were also found. The negative association of school support and susceptibility to peer influence was found greater in girls than boys. Girls who were highly susceptible to peer influence, or who had friends who were highly susceptible, had a relatively greater risk for involvement in relational aggression and sexual harassment, as compared with boys. Implications of these results for educators and school‐based mental health professionals are discussed, and suggestions for future research are offered.
... Sexual harassment is related to a variety of physical and mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, aggression, angriness, insomnia, and diminished life satisfaction [5][6][7]9,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Victims of sexual harassment report more depression than those who have not been harassed [7,9,12,14,15,18,21,22,24], and Chiodo et al. [25] found that harassed adolescents were emotionally distressed even 2.5 years after the harassment occurred. ...
... Sexual harassment is related to a variety of physical and mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, aggression, angriness, insomnia, and diminished life satisfaction [5][6][7]9,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Victims of sexual harassment report more depression than those who have not been harassed [7,9,12,14,15,18,21,22,24], and Chiodo et al. [25] found that harassed adolescents were emotionally distressed even 2.5 years after the harassment occurred. Mental health problems may be a consequence of but also a precipitating factor to subjection to sexual harassment [26,27]. ...
... Contrary to our hypothesis, we found an inverse association between scoring high on subjection to sexual harassment and depression among girls and the association among boys was non-significant. Earlier research has reported positive associations between depression and subjection to sexual harassment among both boys and girls [7,12,22,24,54,55,57], or only among girls [9,56]. Our results differ from those of earlier research in that the association detected among girls was inverse, not positive. ...
Introduction: Subjection to sexual harassment among adolescents have been associated with negative mental health outcomes, such as depression and social anxiety. Self-esteem and social support may modify these associations.
Methods: The Adolescent Mental Health Cohort 10-year replication data were used. It is a cross-sectional classroom survey involving 656 girls and 636 boys aged (mean (sd)) 15.6 (0.4) years and 15.7 (0.4) years, respectively. Subjection to sexual harassment was elicited with five questions. Depression was measured by the Beck’s 13-item Depression Inventory, social anxiety by the SPIN-Fin Inventory, self-esteem by Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale and social support by the PSSS-R scale. The data were analysed using cross-tabulations with chi-square statistics and logistic regressions.
Resutls: Among girls, social anxiety and higher self-esteem were positively associated with experiencing subjection to sexual harassment in multivariate models. No statistically significant associations were detected among boys between experiences of sexual harassment and any of the four variables.
Conclusion: Experiences of being sexually harassed correlate among adolescents with high social anxiety but also with high self-esteem. Sexual harassment among adolescents may partly be explained as inept ways of showing interest, but it may nevertheless have detrimental effects on the well-being of the those subjected to it.
... Sexual harassment can negatively impact youths' subsequent adjustment. For example, researchers have documented how experiences with sexual harassment predicted increased emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, and externalizing behaviors in both girls and boys as well as increased negative body image and self-harm in girls (e.g., Chiodo et al., 2009;Goldstein et al., 2007;Kosciw et al., 2022). Sexual harassment can also lead to lower feelings of safety in school, perceived support in school, and school satisfaction, as well as greater academic disengagement and lower grades (Chiodo et al., 2009;Gruber and Fineran, 2016;Hill and Kearl, 2011;Poteat and Espelage, 2007). ...
... Sexual harassment can also lead to lower feelings of safety in school, perceived support in school, and school satisfaction, as well as greater academic disengagement and lower grades (Chiodo et al., 2009;Gruber and Fineran, 2016;Hill and Kearl, 2011;Poteat and Espelage, 2007). Furthermore, girls who reported being sexually harassed within the context of a romantic relationship were at risk for lower self-esteem and dating violence (Chiodo et al., 2009;Goldstein et al., 2007). ...
We review how sexist ideologies and practices perpetuate male dominance in society during adolescence. Their deleterious impacts on girls, gender- and sexual-minoritized youth, and gender-nonconforming boys are emphasized, although we also describe their negative effects for gender-conforming boys. Conceptual models of sexist attitudes and traditional gender ideologies are explained, and their correlates with adolescents’ behaviors are summarized. Next, we document the prevalence and effects of sexualization, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Also, we address how gender-biased experiences undermine youth in academic and athletic settings. Finally, we review factors related to adolescents’ awareness of sexism, coping, and potential strategies for preventing sexism.
... Public recognition of the phenomenon becomes more prominent because sexual harassment has always been present. In fact, it is everywhere; at the workplace, schools and universities, in public places, transportations, streets, at home, online and all possible locations (3) . ...
... So, economic constraints make it difficult to fulfill his traditional masculine role. Participating in harassment is not necessarily intended to inflict physical, emotional, or psychological harm on women; rather it can be seen as an enactment of an internalized personal crisis brought about by an inability to get married within a society where marriage is a main initiation into adulthood (3,30) . Similar results were reported by Ismail N et al. (2007) and Banerjee A and Sharma B (2011) (31,32) . ...
... In the Nordic countries, sexual and gendered harassment are relatively common among lower secondary school pupils (12-15 years of age) (1)(2)(3). This is particularly the case for sexual minority pupils (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, etc.) (4)(5)(6). In this study, sexual harassment is defined as unwanted sexual attention that may be physical, verbal and nonverbal. ...
... The associations between exposure to sexual and gendered harassment and mental health problems among adolescents are well-established. Longitudinal studies support that sexual and gendered harassment lead to depressive symptoms (4)(5)(6) as well as emotional distress (5,7). Furthermore, being exposed to sexual or gendered harassment is associated with higher levels of suicidal feelings among young people (8,9). ...
Background
Sexual- and gendered harassment are normalised in many peer groups, yet their associations with mental health concerns among adolescents are well-established. School based interventions that prevent and reduce sexual and gendered harassment among younger adolescents are scarce. For schools, protecting pupils from harassment may be challenging if the behaviour is trivialised among the pupils themselves. In the current study, the school intervention “Stop Sexual Harassment” was therefore developed to help teachers and pupils detect, address and stop sexual and gendered harassment among pupils ages 13–15 in Norwegian secondary schools.
Methods
In this study the effectiveness of “Stop Sexual Harassment” is evaluated via a cluster randomised controlled trial among pupils and teachers at 38 secondary schools. Schools were randomised into intervention and control groups. Primary outcomes are sexual and gendered harassment victimisation and perpetration, which will be assessed by the administration of questionnaires to pupils and teachers at baseline, and 2-, and 7-months follow-up. A process evaluation of the intervention implementation will be conducted through focus group interviews with pupils and teachers to gain insight about their experiences with the program components and implementation of the intervention.
Discussion
If the intervention yields positive effects, large-scale implementation of the program may be offered for secondary schools. The program may thus reduce sexual and gendered harassment among young adolescents.
Clinical trial registration
clinicaltrial.gov; identifier: NCT04716400.
... If this is the case, it follows that adolescents sexually interested and eager to socialize in mixed-gender groups would also be most likely to become victims of peer sexual harassment, regardless of gender expression [6]. Reporting subjection to sexual harassment has been associated with the early onset of puberty and advanced pubertal maturation [40,41], early and frequent dating, romantic and erotic relationships, a greater number of partners for sex [2,5,6,9,40,42,43], and greater attractiveness and perceived personal power [41]. This seems to highlight the role of emerging sexual desires in sexually harassing behaviours and to influence who become targets of these: unwelcome attention may be attracted by appearance and behaviours signalling sexuality. ...
... If this is the case, it follows that adolescents sexually interested and eager to socialize in mixed-gender groups would also be most likely to become victims of peer sexual harassment, regardless of gender expression [6]. Reporting subjection to sexual harassment has been associated with the early onset of puberty and advanced pubertal maturation [40,41], early and frequent dating, romantic and erotic relationships, a greater number of partners for sex [2,5,6,9,40,42,43], and greater attractiveness and perceived personal power [41]. This seems to highlight the role of emerging sexual desires in sexually harassing behaviours and to influence who become targets of these: unwelcome attention may be attracted by appearance and behaviours signalling sexuality. ...
Subjection to sexual harassment (SH) has been reported more commonly by girls than by boys, by sexual and gender minority youth more than by mainstream youth, and by sexually active youth more than by those not yet experienced in romantic and erotic encounters. However, the research so far has not addressed these correlates simultaneously. This study aimed to explore independent associations between experiencing SH and these aspects of sex, gender and sexuality—considering all of them concurrently. A cross sectional survey with data from Finland was used, with an analyzable sample of 71,964 adolescents aged 14 to 16-years- of age, collected in 2017. The data were analysed using cross-tabulations with chi-square statistics and logistic regression analyses. The types of SH studied were gender harassment, unwelcome sexual attention, and sexual coercion. Girls, sexual and gender minority youth, and youth engaging in romantic and erotic encounters had experienced all three types of SH more commonly than boys, mainstream youth and those not sexually active. Associations between minority status and experiences of sexual harassment were stronger among boys, and being sexually active had stronger associations with subjection to sexual harassment in girls. The findings appear to support the assumption that sexual harassment serves both as a means of perpetuating heteronormativity and the sexual double standard.
... Sexual harassment can be particularly damaging to adolescents because it attacks an individual's sexual identity during a period in development characterized by heightened sensitivity to peer approval and rejection (Steinberg, 2014). Indeed, sexual harassment has been associated with negative affect and depressive symptoms (i.e., sadness, anger), self-harm, substance use, and feeling unsafe at school in cross-sectional (Bucchianeri et al., 2014;Clear et al., 2014) and longitudinal studies (Chiodo et al., 2009;Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Goldstein et al., 2007;Wolff et al., 2017). Of concern is that adolescents may turn to substances as a means of coping with emotional distress from sexual harassment, placing them at risk for earlier initiation of substance use, as well as more frequent or heavier use (Kuntsche et al., 2005). ...
... There is a robust association between delinquency and risky sexual behavior (Beaver et al., 2016), as well as an expectation for sexual activity to occur in contexts where alcohol is consumed, even among adolescents (Lindgren et al., 2009;Livingston et al., 2013). Several studies have shown that involvement in delinquent activities, including using illegal or age-inappropriate substances and affiliating with delinquent peers, increases the likelihood of sexual harassment victimization (Fineran & Bolen, 2006;Goldstein et al., 2007;Tillyer et al., 2016). ...
Introduction
Peer sexual harassment is associated with adolescent substance use at the global level; however, it is unknown whether substance use occurs proximal in time to the sexual harassment experience. This study used daily reports to examine the proximal relations between sexual harassment victimization and affect and substance use. Based on theories of self‐medication, we hypothesized that negative affect and substance use (cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana) would be higher than typical on days when sexual harassment occurred relative to nonvictimization days.
Method
A community sample of 13–16‐year‐old adolescents (N = 204, 55.4% female) from a metropolitan area in the northeastern United States completed 56 days of online reports assessing experiences with peer sexual harassment, substance use (cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana), and positive and negative affect.
Results
Multilevel modeling revealed that experiencing sexual harassment on a given day was associated with higher than typical negative affect on that day, relative to nonvictimization days. The likelihood of cigarette and alcohol use (but not electronic cigarettes, marijuana, or positive affect) was greater on days when sexual harassment occurred.
Conclusion
Sexual harassment victimization is proximally associated with negative affect and alcohol and cigarette use, suggesting that adolescents may be using substances to cope with sexual harassment victimization. The co‐occurrence of sexual harassment with negative affect and substance use points to the need for prevention efforts that conjointly address sexual harassment victimization, coping, and substance use.
... Research has shown that 90% of adolescent girls have been the target of sexual harassment at least once, and between one in four and one in five women in college have been the victim of sexual assault (Leaper & Brown, 2008;Muehlenhard et al., 2017). Research has documented that being the target of sexual harassment and assault has longterm consequences on physical, mental, and emotional health, such as disordered eating, depression, anxiety, fear, anger, humiliation, distrust, and post-traumatic stress syndrome (e.g., Chiodo et al., 2009;Eom et al., 2015;Goldstein et al., 2007;Jina & Thomas, 2013). Despite the severity and longevity of consequences for the victims of sexual harassment and assault, there are rarely consequences for the perpetrators. ...
... Sexual harassment is extremely damaging to girls' social, emotional, and academic outcomes (Hand & Sanchez, 2000). Girls who have been sexually harassed are at risk for emotional distress, embarrassment, lowered self-esteem, negative body appraisals, depression, disordered eating, substance abuse, externalizing behaviors, and suicidal thoughts (Chiodo et al., 2009;Goldstein et al., 2007;Gruber & Fineran, 2016;Petersen & Hyde, 2009;Sagrestano et al., 2019). They are also at increased risk for academic problems, school absenteeism, and school disengagement, and are more likely to question their potential happiness in longterm relationships (American Association of University Women [AAUW], 2001;Larkin & Popaleni, 1994). ...
In the United States, many adolescent girls experience sexual harassment before they leave high school, and between 20% and 25% of college women are survivors of sexual assault. Despite the many negative consequences associated with these experiences, perpetrating sexual harassment and assault is often viewed as normative. Using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theoretical framework, we propose a bioecological theory of the perpetration and tolerance of sexual harassment of girls. We propose children’s proximal and distal contexts contribute to the endorsement of sexualized gender stereotypes, which in turn impacts high rates of both perpetration and acceptance of sexual harassment. We discuss the ways that three important microsystems—parents, peers, and schools—contribute to this acceptance. We also propose that key components of media within the exosystem work to further normalize sexual harassment of girls and women. These contexts inform children’s development, creating a culture that is permissive of sexual harassment, resulting in high rates of sexual harassment and assault in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Implications of our proposed theory for policymakers, teachers, parents, and researchers are discussed.
... The survey also documented a significant increase in experience of online harassment in general (from 6% in last year in 2000 to 11% in 2010), primarily reflecting that young people increasingly interact online with their peers [7]. A European internet study of online safety [6] found that 15% of [11][12][13][14][15][16] year olds had received 'sexual messages or images of people naked or having sex' from their peers in the last year, with one quarter of these young people finding this experience fairly or very upsetting. It is worth bearing in mind that sexual interactions between young people on the internet are frequent and only a small proportion of these interactions are unwanted, exploitative or distressing [9]. ...
... Difficulty with 'offline' relationships may also lead young people to seek friendship online in ways that make them vulnerable to harassment and/or victimization [12]. Due to a dearth of longitudinal studies in this field, mechanisms underlying links between OSH and psychological health and well-being are poorly understood [13]. ...
Online sexual harassment (OSH) appears to be a relatively frequent phenomenon, particularly for older adolescents. It is also a gendered experience. Compared to their male peers, female adolescents are more likely to experience OSH and find it upsetting. This study sought to explore the role of resilience in explaining the association between online sexual harassment (OSH) and negative mood (i.e., depression and anxiety symptoms) among female adolescents. Using data from a panel sample of 477 female Croatian adolescents (age at baseline = 15.8 years; SD = 0.48) and two-wave cross-lagged path analysis, we investigated OSH, changes in depression/anxiety symptoms, association between OSH and negative mood, and the role of resilience. During the 26-month period under observation, OSH and negative mood were associated cross-sectionally, but not longitudinally. This suggests the negative mood effects of OSH exposure may be short-lived or that factors other than OSH explain changes in negative mood over time. Resilience was consistently and negatively associated with negative mood, but not OSH. In adolescent girls with low levels of resilience, OSH was associated with negative mood; no such relationship was observed among their highly resilient peers. Experiences other than OSH appear to be more pertinent in predicting symptoms of negative mood in older adolescent girls over time. Given that resilience attenuated the relationship between OSH and negative mood, efforts to increase resilience to online challenges may be more helpful than efforts to limit or control young people’s online exposure.
... These studies, together with the research by Aiello et al. (2018), show that violent boys tend to be considered more attractive than the boys who have a more friendly and attentive personality, which is a fact that constitutes a risk factor. Thus, the relationship between the attraction to the hegemonic model of masculinity and violence is one of the possible causes of the high rates of incidence of gender violence in the adolescent population (Goldstein et al., 2007). In fact, the popularity of the models of sexual and affective attractiveness, which can deviate to aggressive behaviors, is accepted on many occasions by adolescents in their daily environments, which reinforces the image of the aggressor, especially in the case of boys, as Lloyd et al. (2008) or Mahlstedt and Welsh (2005) have demonstrated in their studies. ...
... In this way, by considering the total sample of both boys and girls, it is observed that, as specified Valls et al. (2008), Elboj et al. (2009) andGómez (2015), socialization achieves great importance in shaping the beliefs of adolescents regarding gender relations. Thus, the influence of the relationships between adolescents and their immediate environment on having beliefs associated with gender violence ("The man who seems aggressive is more attractive" and "It is justified that a man attacks his wife or his girlfriend when she decides to leave him") was significant and negative, that is, better relationships are less likely to assume such exclusionary beliefs, as specified by Lindberg et al. (2007), Goldstein et al. (2007) and Puigvert et al. (2019). The relationships that, as observed variables, most contributed to the latent variable of relationships were, as might be hypothesized, the relationships at the school, which has already been emphasized by authors such as Fernández-Fuertes et al. (2006) and Ortega et al. (2008), and the family relationships with the educational center, as emphasized by Rios-González et al. (2018); these relationships were fundamental variables in these beliefs. ...
Nowadays sexual violence among adolescents continues to be detected in schools. In this sense, several studies show the great importance of the interactions of boys and girls with people in their educational environment to configure their emotional and sexual identity, their beliefs about violence, and their relationship with sexual violence, being necessary to identify the actions that prevent sexual violence at schools. In the current article, and according to the literature review, a model based on structural equations is proposed to analyze the influence of students’ relationships with one another, with the educational community (at the center, with faculty, staff, other workers), and families’ relationships with the center as well as adolescents’ own beliefs related to gender violence on being a victim, bystander, or aggressor of behaviors related to sexual violence in a sample of 4,273 Spanish students in secondary education. This model is replicated for only women (n = 2,022) and only men (n = 2,038). The results show that positive relationships are a protective factor against involvement in situations of sexual aggression, and they influence the acquisition of transformative beliefs regarding models of attraction and nonviolence. In turn, these beliefs even more obviously affect the prevention of this type of violence.
... Previous studies have documented external and internal problems associated with SH experience in adolescents, including SH perpetration, binge drinking, bullying victimization, poor academic performance, self-harm, substance use, delinquency, relational victimization, low psychological well-being, high psychological distress, depression, lower self-esteem, compromised physical health, trauma symptom and adjustment difficulties (Bucchianeri, Eisenberg, Wall, Piran, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2014;Clear et al., 2014;Goldstein, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2007;Greenwald, 2004;Gruber & Fineran, 2008;Lichty & Campbell, 2012;Timmerman, 2005). However, SH in adolescents as opposed to adults has been less thoroughly researched (Grube & Lens, 2003) or addressed. ...
... Firstly, perpetrator characteristics, especially their gender, should be included in the investigation of adolescent SH, as one previous study (McMaster et al., 2002) suggests that same-gender SH and crossgender SH in adolescents might be distinct constructs and may have different outcomes. Secondly, pubertal status, dating experience, victim/perpetrator relationship dynamics, sexual orientation and parental characteristics of victims are also useful variables to take into account in future investigation as they were found to have an effect on adolescent SH experience (Goldstein et al., 2007;Gruber & Fineran, 2008;Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016;Skoog & Özdemir, 2016). Thirdly, since bullying and SH overlap significantly, in future research, bullying should be used as a control variable to establish the unique effects of SH (Zetterström & Gillander, 2018). ...
The aims of the current study were to provide the first Australian prevalence estimates of sexual harassment in adolescents, explore gender differences in form and frequency of harassment, and investigate demographic and weight status correlates. A total of 4098 adolescents (47.3% boys), aged 11 to 19 years from government and non-government secondary schools completed demographic questions, self-reported weight and height, and a modified Association of American University Women Sexual Harassment Survey. Overall, 42.5% of boys and 40.0% of girls reported some forms of sexual harassment in the previous school term. A significant gender difference was found in overall frequency of sexual harassment but not in prevalence. Six of the nine forms of sexual harassment were more likely and more frequently to have been experienced by boys compared to girls. In conclusion, sexual harassment is a pervasive problem in Australian high schools and needs to be acknowledged and dealt with specifically.
... Some of the existing studies have found that certain aspects of the school context, including teacher maltreatment [22] and feeling disconnected from school [24], are linked to a higher prevalence of sexual harassment. Aspects of the peer context, including bullying and peer relationship problems [22], having peers with problematic behavior [30], participation in mixed-gender peer groups [2], and romantic relationship status [24] have also been linked to sexual harassment. This is also true for aspects of the parentadolescent relationship [31]. ...
... Interestingly, and perhaps surprisingly, research has found that early adolescents seem to view verbal harassment as the most upsetting forms of sexual harassment victimization [19]. Some of the harms of sexual harassment among young people include lower self-esteem, poor physical and mental health, and trauma symptoms [11], shame, poor body image [14], depressive symptoms [18,32], substance use [33], adjustment problems [30], and academic problems [34]. Only a few protective factors against these consequences have been identified, including higher self-esteem and higher perceived support from others [35]. ...
Background
Sexual harassment is a widespread problem with serious consequences for individuals
and societies. It is likely that sexual harassment among peers has its main onset during
the transition from late childhood to early adolescence, when young people enter
puberty. However, there is a lack of systematic research on sexual harassment during
this developmental period. Thus, there is very little information about the prevalence of
sexual harassment during this important transition, its consequences, and how to
effectively intervene against and prevent the problem. The primary objective of the
described project, entitled Peer Relations In School from an Ecological perspective
(PRISE), is to examine sexual harassment and its developmental correlates during the
transition from late childhood to early adolescence.
Methods
The PRISE study has a longitudinal design over 3 years, in which a cohort of children (
N = 1000) and their main teachers ( N = 40) fill out questionnaires in grades 4, 5, and
6. The questionnaires assess aspects of peer sexual harassment and potential
correlates including biological (e.g., pubertal development), psychosocial (e.g.,
resilience, self-image, peer relations), and contextual (e.g., classroom climate, norms)
factors. In addition, we will examine school readiness and policies in relation to sexual
harassment and collect register data to assess the number of reports of sexual
harassment from the participating schools.
Discussion
The PRISE study will enable the researchers to answer fundamental, unresolved
questions about the development of sexual harassment and thus advance the very
limited understanding of sexual harassment during the transition from childhood to
adolescence - a central period for physical, sexual, and social development. Due to the
sensitive nature of the main research concepts, and the age of the participants, the
ethical aspects of the research need particular attention. Ultimately, the hope is that the
PRISE study will help researchers, policy makers, and practitioners develop, and
implement, knowledge that may help in combating a major, current societal challenge
and adverse aspect of young people’s developmental ecologies.
... PSH begins early, often before middle school, increases throughout middle school and high school, and then drops off in college (AAUW, 2001;Goldstein, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2007;Petersen & Hyde, 2009). Although most existing data are cross-sectional, longitudinal studies also suggest that harassment increases from the middle school to high school years (Pellegrini, 2001;Petersen & Hyde, 2009, 2013a, 2013b. ...
... Some have argued that pubertal changes lead to increased interest in sexuality, and PSH is a clumsy attempt at expressing attraction for others (e.g., Pellegrini, 2001;Petersen & Hyde, 2009, 2013b. Indeed, girls with more advanced pubertal development report greater likelihood of being harassed than less developed girls (Goldstein et al., 2007;Petersen & Hyde, 2009;Skoog & Ö zdemir, 2016). However, few perpetrators indicate that their harassing behavior was an attempt to get a date or start a relationship (Hill & Kearl, 2011). ...
Peer sexual harassment (PSH) occurs frequently and across contexts during adolescence. The current study examined the relations among PSH in school, psychological distress, sexual experimentation, and sexual risk-taking in a sample of African American middle and high school girls. Results indicate that negative body appraisals mediated the relationship between PSH and psychological distress, suggesting that PSH is one way to operationalize interpersonal sexualization and sexual objectification. PSH was directly associated with sexual experimentation, but the association between PSH and sexual experimentation was not mediated by negative body appraisals. Neither PSH nor negative body appraisals were related to sexual risk-taking. This suggests that frequent exposure to high levels of sexualization and sexual objectification, in the form of PSH, is associated with more psychological distress and sexual experimentation, but not with sexual risk-taking, regardless of how girls feel about their bodies.
... Age is also related to reports of sexual harassment attitudes and behavior. High school students report more tolerant sexual harassment attitudes relative to university students (Bogart, Simmons, Stein, & Tomaszewski, 1992;Foulis & McCabe, 1997). In addition, there is an increase in sexual harassment experiences between the middle and high school years, as adolescents develop physically, initiate more interactions with the other sex, and begin romantic and sexual behaviors (Petersen & Hyde, 2009). ...
... Sexual harassment is known to have a negative impact on emotional health (Bucchianeri, Eisenberg, Wall, Piran, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2014;Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Goldstein, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2007). One explanation for this can be found in the diathesis-stress model (Zuckerman, 1999), which has been applied to the study of interpersonal stress on emotional adjustment (such as anxiety and depressive symptoms; Hyde, Mezulis, & Abramson, 2008;Michl, McLaughlin, Shepherd, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2013;Swearer & Hymel, 2015). ...
Introduction
We examined sexual harassment, alongside other forms of peer victimization, as correlates of self‐worth, depression, and anxiety (emotional adjustment). In addition, we investigated joint moderating effects of gender and age in the relationship between sexual harassment and emotional adjustment.
Methods
Participants were 277 high school and 492 university students (12–24 years, 60% female) residing in Australia. All completed a survey to report sexual harassment experiences, as well as in‐person and online/social media appearance‐related peer victimization, global self‐worth, and social anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Results
Age was positively associated with sexual harassment, as well as with general and social media victimization; males and females did not differ. Participants who reported more sexual harassment reported poorer adjustment, but only the association with depressive symptoms remained significant after controlling for other forms of peer victimization. When gender and age were tested as moderators, the positive association between sexual harassment and depression was significant for all groups but younger males and there was a positive association between harassment and anxiety among only younger females and older males.
Conclusion
Sexual harassment was commonly reported, but rather weakly and intermittently associated with emotional health, after controlling for appearance‐related peer victimization. Future research should examine when and why youth seem fairly resilient to negative emotional effects that could follow sexual harassment. It is possible that messages about the cause of sexual harassment are being heard and this aids youth to avoid self‐blame and emotional maladjustment.
... Differences in adolescent sexual harassment victimization by race or ethnicity are unclear and understudied . Some research indicates that Black or minoritized high school youth experience higher rates of sexual harassment compared to White adolescents (Clear et al., 2014;Goldstein et al., 2007), while others suggest that White youth in middle school and high school are at heightened risk for victimization Basile et al., 2020). Surprisingly, there has been little attention given to risks or prevalence of sexual harassment among Hispanic or Latinx adolescents in the U.S. Taken together, it is clear that additional research is needed on the prevalence of and differences in sexual harassment by race and ethnicity among late adolescents. ...
Despite the potential for negative health consequences, scant recent literature has focused on sexual harassment among older adolescent populations. In assessing the prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of this persistent public health problem, we begin to address this gap in knowledge. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, we administered the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire to 1,124 older adolescents (17 and 18) and conducted multilevel logistic regression analyses to examine the link between demographic, environmental, and health factors and sexual harassment. 20% of older adolescents reported being sexually harassed in the past year. Girls were twice as likely and bisexual/pansexual participants were three times as likely to experience harassment, relative to males and heterosexual participants, respectively. Sexual harassment was associated with multiple health problems (PTSD, anxiety, and depression) and frequency of alcohol use. It was inversely related to positive school peer climate. Findings underscore the health consequences of sexual harassment, especially for female and gender and sexual minority adolescents, who are at higher risk. Interventions focused on improving mental wellbeing should include sexual harassment prevention and vice versa. Given our finding that positive school climate is associated with less sexual harassment, school-based interventions should be employed to promote a harassment-free environment.
... Several factors contribute to sexual harassment among adolescents, including permissive social environments toward such behaviors, low parental involvement in adolescents' personal lives, and peer pressure (Burn, 2018;Choirunnisa et al., 2020). Additional factors such as early sexual development in adolescent girls and gender inequality also increase the risk of victimization (Goldstein et al., 2007). Other studies highlight that adolescents from low socioeconomic status families are at greater risk of experiencing sexual harassment (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016). ...
The increasing cases of sexual harassment, particularly among teenagers, have become a critical issue that requires immediate attention. One preventive effort is enhancing assertiveness skills, which can be improved through informational services provided by guidance and counseling teachers. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of informational services based on sumbang duo baleh using a contextual learning approach to enhance students' assertive behavior in preventing sexual harassment. The research employs a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental method and a time-series design. The sample was randomly selected, involving one class as the experimental group, consisting of 29 female students of Minangkabau ethnicity. Data were collected using a scale measuring students' assertive behavior in preventing sexual harassment, administered as a pretest and posttest. The results show that informational services based on sumbang duo baleh with a contextual learning approach are moderately effective in improving students' assertive behavior, with an N-Gain score of 54.5% (0.5450). The percentage of students' assertive behavior increased by 12.89%, from 59.54% in the pretest to 76.61% in the posttest. Furthermore, the average score improved from 111.75 in the pretest to 176.2 in the posttest. These findings indicate that informational services based on sumbang duo baleh can serve as an effective approach to enhancing students' assertiveness as a preventive measure against sexual harassment.
... Penelitian telah menunjukkan bahwa 90% remaja perempuan telah menjadi target pelecehan seksual setidaknya satu kali, dan antara satu dari empat dan satu dari lima perempuan di perguruan tinggi pernah menjadi korban kekerasan seksual (Leaper & Brown, 2008;Muehlenhard et.al , 2017). Menjadi target pelecehan dan penyerangan seksual mempunyai konsekuensi jangka panjang terhadap kesehatan fisik, mental, dan emosional, seperti gangguan makan, depresi, kecemasan, ketakutan, kemarahan, penghinaan, ketidakpercayaan, dan sindrom stres pasca-trauma (Eom et al., 2015;Goldstein et al., 2007;Jina & Thomas, 2013). ...
Sexual violence in educational settings deprives students of the freedom to develop their potential in a healthy, safe, and optimal environment. Various forms of sexual violence harm students, educators, and staff, potentially hindering or eliminating their opportunities to learn and teach. In alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology issued Regulation No. 30 of 2021 for higher education institutions. Initiatives under the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence (PPKS) program have shown promising results. One example is the Symbolic Poster Design Competition as Public Education, where 391 participants showed great enthusiasm. The research aimed to describe the competition process and raise awareness about the importance of PPKS. The competition was organized using Erick Karjaluoto's design method. This paper focuses on two main discussions: how to design criteria and schemes for a competition that educates the younger generation, and the participants' responses to the competition. The study concluded that the symbolic poster competition encouraged participants to show sympathy towards victims, avoiding traumatic elements in their designs. While solution-oriented posters are useful for potential users, designs with constructive purposes are meaningful for organizers, users, and designers. Keywords: Poster Design Competition, Design Method, Symbolic Poster, Design Competition Mechanism, SDG Goal 16 Kekerasan seksual dalam konteks pendidikan merampas kebebasan siswa untuk mengembangkan potensi mereka dengan kondisi yang sehat, aman, nyaman, dan optimal. Berbagai bentuk kekerasan seksual mengakibatkan kerugian bagi mahasiswa dan para pendidik serta staf kependidikan, yang dapat menghambat atau bahkan menghilangkan kesempatan mereka untuk belajar dan mengajar. Sebagai perwujudan SDG Goals 17 yaitu Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, maka dikeluarkannya Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi (Permendikbudristek) No. 30 Tahun 2021 di lingkungan perguruan tinggi. Kegiatan dalam rangka PPKS menunjukkan hasilnya. Salah satu contohnya adalah penelitian dengan Lomba Desain Poster Simbolik Sebagai Edukasi Publik. Sebanyak 391 peserta menunjukkkan atusianisme yang besar untuk mengikuti lomba poster simbolik tentang Pencegahan dan Penanganan Kekerasan Seksual (PPKS). Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan proses kegiatan lomba dan awareness tentang pentingnya PPKS. Metode yang digunakan adalah studi kasus. Permasalahan dalam penelitian ini ada dua yaitu: 1. Bagaimana proses lomba desain dalam mengedukasi para generasi muda? 2. Bagaimana respons peserta lomba? Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah melalui lomba poster simbolik ini mengangkat isu pelecehan seksual dan menaruh simpati kepada korban untuk tidak memberikan unsur traumatis. Desain poster yang solutif akan berguna bagi calon pengguna, namun desain yang memiliki tujuan konstruktif akan bermakna bagi penyelenggara, pengguna, dan desainernya itu sendiri.
... In addition to female gender, a number of risk factors for sexual harassment exposure among adolescents have been reported. For example, risk factors have included racial (16) and sexual minority identity (17), emotional problems (18), and higher frequency of alcohol use and delinquent behaviors (17,19). Higher risk of sexual abuse (20) and online sexual abuse (21) has been found among adolescents in less affluent families, and lower parental education levels have been associated with higher likelihood of adolescents reporting sexual harassment experience (22). ...
Background
Sexual harassment is common in most countries and cultures. Less is known about sexual harassment, its risk factors, and psychosocial outcomes among young adolescents. The aim of the study was to examine the 12-month prevalence of sexual harassment exposure, and sociodemographic and psychosocial factors associated with exposure among junior high school students in Norway.
Methods
A comprehensive cross-sectional study was completed by 83,297 Norwegian adolescents in junior high school in 2021. Data on exposure to sexual harassment were used in combination with sociodemographic measures and psychosocial outcomes: depressive symptoms, loneliness, self-esteem, and well-being. Group differences were analyzed with Chi Square tests, and sociodemographic risk factors were analyzed with logistic regression. Psychosocial outcomes were assessed with multivariate and univariate ANOVAs, and dose–response relationships were assessed with linear regression.
Results
Among the adolescents, 32.6% had experienced sexual harassment during the past year. Girls had higher odds of exposure (OR: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.84–1.96), whereas adolescents whose parents had higher education had lower odds (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.90–0.99). Exposure was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms (partial η² [ES] = 0.11) and loneliness (ES = 0.07), and with lower self-esteem (ES = 0.06) and well-being (ES = 0.06). Among exposed adolescents, more frequent exposure was associated with poorer outcomes.
Conclusion
Exposure to sexual harassment affects one third of junior high school students in Norway. Those who are exposed have poorer psychosocial outcomes, and there is a dose–response relationship between exposure and outcomes. Awareness of sexual harassment among young adolescents, and interventions to prevent and reduce it, are needed.
... Research found links between African American adolescents' experiences of sexual harassment and the impact on their mental health. In one longitudinal study, sexual harassment in the 8th grade did not predict depressive symptoms, self-esteem, or substance use in the 11th grade for African American adolescents, but did predict externalizing behaviors (Goldstein et al., 2007). ...
... In the United States (US), girls belonging to racial and ethnic minority groups appear to report higher levels of sexual harassment when compared to their White counterparts [2,4,6,7]. Of concern, there has been increasing evidence from US-based neighborhood studies indicating that prevalence estimates are even greater and the frequency of exposure is higher among young women living in low-resource neighborhoods, where other forms of sexual violence and community violence are high and often intersect [8][9][10][11][12]. ...
Direct experiences of sexual harassment have been found to be associated with substance use and poor mental health among girls. Indirect experiences, such as witnessing the sexual harassment of others, may be indicative of a climate supportive of sexual harassment against girls and elicit similar adverse outcomes. The current study sought to assess reports of witnessing sexual harassment and associations with substance use and mental heath outcomes among adolescent girls. The data were from questionnaires among girls (n = 152) ages 15–19 recruited from a health clinic serving a low-resource community in San Diego County. Using crude and adjusted regression models, we assessed witnessing the sexual harassment of girls (past year) as well as the frequency of witnessing such acts in relation to substance use, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The adjusted models included demographics and direct experiences of sexual harassment (past 6 months) as covariates. The participants had an average age of 17, and 76% were Latina. The majority (70%) reported witnessing sexual harassment (past year); 65% reported directly experiencing sexual harassment (past 6 months). Among those reporting witnessing, most witnessed sexual harassment at school (69%), at a party (45%), in their neighborhood (34%), or on public transport (33%). In adjusted logistic regression models, witnessing sexual harassment was significantly associated with past 30-day alcohol use, ever using drugs, feeling depressed (past 30 days), feeling anxious (past 30 days), and past-year suicidal ideation (ORs range 2.9–18.2). The findings suggest that, in addition to direct experiences of sexual harassment, indirect experiences of witnessing the sexual harassment of others may also be associated with negative outcomes regarding girls’ health and well-being.
... Early puberty has been linked to adolescent risk-taking behavior, including alcohol and drug use, sex initiation, and unprotected sex before the age of 16 (Downing & Bellis, 2009). Girls who experience early pubertal development have also been found to be at increased risk for sexual harassment by peers (Goldstein et al., 2007;Skoog & Bayram Özdemir, 2016), as well as dating abuse and intimate partner violence in adolescence (Chen et al., 2017;Foster et al., 2004) Given these findings, early puberty may also represent a risk factor for online sexual abuse. ...
As technology has become increasingly integrated into the everyday lives of young people and social interactions have moved online, so too have the opportunities for child sexual abuse. However, the risk factors for online sexual abuse, and their similarities or differences with those of offline sexual abuse have not been clarified, making it difficult to design prevention strategies. Using a nationally representative online survey panel of young adults ages 18 to 28, the current study sought to identify risk factors for online childhood sexual abuse and compare their relevance and strength in predicting offline sexual abuse. The 2,639 participants, ages 18 to 28, were sampled from the Ipsos KnowledgePanel and were asked questions about 11 different kinds of technology-facilitated online sexual abuse that occurred in childhood, follow-up questions about their dynamics and offenders, and a variety of potential risk factors. Results indicated that: (1) being cisgender female, nonheterosexual, and having parents with less than a high school education emerged as important demographic predictors of online child sexual abuse (OCSA); and (2) early offline sexual abuse was the strongest predictor of OCSA, when considering both its direct and indirect effects through online risky behavior. Findings suggest that prevention programs directed at reducing risk of sexual abuse, in general, are likely to be effective against online sexual abuse, provided they also incorporate efforts to educate youth on the need to avoid risky online behaviors.
... Further, Black girls often have to navigate adolescent development under the constant threat of sexual and gender-based violence (Dorsey et al., 2022b). For example, Black adolescent girls are more likely to receive unwanted sexual harassment compared to White girls (Goldstein et al., 2007) and are also more likely to be sexually violated compared to other racial groups (Planty et al., 2016). The intersectional gender and racial stress associated with navigating these situations have been attributed to decreased health and well-being outcomes among Black women later in life in response to the persistent stressors associated with identifying across multiple socially disadvantaged groups (i.e., race, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.; Perry et al., 2013). ...
Purpose: Few interventions focus on the unique developmental contexts specific to Black adolescent girls living in the United States. This article conducts a scoping review to identify interventions targeted at the well-being of Black adolescent girls. Method: The authors conducted a comprehensive search using electronic databases to identify peer-reviewed journal articles that center interventions to address the well-being of Black adolescent girls. Results: Of the 3,144 unique records identified, eight peer-reviewed articles met the criteria for inclusion. Most interventions focused on issues related to sexual health ( n = 4), followed by interventions focusing on enhancing cultural values ( n = 3), and obesity prevention ( n = 1). Four interventions were both culturally and gender-responsive, three interventions were primarily culturally responsive, and one intervention was primarily gender-responsive with all articles focusing on Black girls’ well-being. Discussion: More interventions are needed that center on the distinct and intersectional challenges and strengths that Black adolescent girls experience within society.
... This study found the harassment began before the sixth grade for 38% of students. Adolescents were more likely to be sexually harassed by peers as they become more advanced into puberty and development (Craig et al., 2001;Goldstein et al., 2007). Three-quarters of men in a Danish study reported that their sexual victimization experiences occurred before the age of 18; among adolescent boys, most victimization was committed by a stranger in 25% of cases (Sundaram et al., 2008). ...
The present research explored female‐perpetrated stranger sexual harassment of young male victims. Across two studies, male participants aged 16–23 reported that they had experienced a range of unwanted sexual attention from unknown female perpetrators, including both in‐person harassment (e.g., seductive behavior and catcalls, unwanted sexual touching) and online harassment (e.g., unsolicited sexual text messages and images, requests for nude self photos). Participants reported that in‐person sexual harassment started as early as 9–12 years of age and online harassment began between 12–14 years of age. Open‐ended descriptions of these early events revealed troubling narratives of non‐consensual sexual touching, forcibly removed clothing, groping, aggression, and being followed, with much of it committed by adult women. Participants recounted being asked, in adolescence, to send nude photos and receiving persistent sexual demands, often from older women. In addition, participants reported uncertainty with gender role expectations, believing that they were supposed to enjoy sexual attention but in reality finding it disturbing and unpleasant. Practical implications, policy recommendations, and future directions are discussed.
... Gendered norms and standards in the United States often take whiteness for granted (Ghavami and Peplau 2013), and so girls' experiences with discrimination contain inherently racialized messaging. Furthermore, adolescent girls of color experience sexism and sexual harassment at rates higher than white girls (Goldstein et al., 2007). The result is that experiences with gender discrimination may affect girls of color in unique ways. ...
Gender discrimination is a common experience for adolescent girls and has implications for their mental health and identity development. Guided by Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST; Spencer et al. 1997), this study examined the longitudinal and bidirectional associations between adolescent girls’ experiences of gender discrimination, their internalizing symptoms, and gender identity. The sample was 161 adolescent girls (ages 14–17; Mage = 15.90) from across the United States (51% White; 17% African American, 11% Hispanic/Latina) who participated in a short-term longitudinal study of adolescent development. The results showed a reciprocal, longitudinal association between discrimination and internalizing symptoms. Discrimination also predicted longitudinal declines in gender identity, which was explained indirectly through internalizing symptoms. The findings implicate gender discrimination as a distinct risk factor during girls’ developmental years, and underscore the importance of helping girls learn adaptive responses to sexism, while also reducing actual occurrence and exposure.
... Este modelo de atracción también supone un factor de riesgo, como ya señalaron en su momento Lindberg, Grabe, y Hyde (2007), y Goldstein, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, y Eccles (2007). Este riesgo no sólo se da porque se fomentan unos valores negativos en las chicas que atraen a los chicos, sino que, además, se promueve una actitud de insolidaridad entre los propios grupos de chicas. ...
... Research on racial and ethnic differences in experiences of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools is still limited (Espelage et al., 2016). However, evidence suggests that African American adolescents are more likely to experience sexual violence than their peers of other racial and ethnic backgrounds (Espelage et al., 2016;Goldstein et al., 2007;NAACP, 2014). Espelage et al. found that African American girls reported greater incidents of physical and sexual assault. ...
Discourse on the experiences of Black adolescents in Ontario schools is largely centered on achievement statistics and disciplinary experiences. Much attention has been given to the negative experiences of Black boys, particularly their increased likelihood of being pushed out of school, and as being outperformed by their female counterparts and students of other racial backgrounds. However, failing to engage the perspectives of Black-Canadian female students results in an incomplete understanding of Black students’ experiences, and the actions that are needed to support their social and academic well-being. This article presents an analysis of the narratives of three Black-Canadian girls from an ethnographic study in a Toronto high school focused on Black identities and inclusive education. Feminist poststructuralism and Black feminist theoretical frameworks were used to explore the discursive field that shaped these young women’s narratives, specifically in relation to incidents of gender-based violence. Findings demonstrate that their understandings of these incidents were constructed through traditionally sexist and racist discourses. These students also employed various discursive strategies to avoid being positioned as victims, while also invoking “rape myths” and postfeminist discourse, in assessing their own, and other young women’s experiences. The research emphasizes the need for educators and policy makers to address harmful school cultures, and the intersecting ways in which race and gender leave Black girls vulnerable in North American schools.
... Research found links between African American adolescents' experiences of sexual harassment and the impact on their mental health. In one longitudinal study, sexual harassment in the 8th grade did not predict depressive symptoms, self-esteem, or substance use in the 11th grade for African American adolescents, but did predict externalizing behaviors (Goldstein et al., 2007). ...
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Justice statistics, 1 in 4 Black girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18. The founder of the #Metoo movement, Ms. Tarana Burke, originally designed the hashtag to help bring awareness to Black women and girls from underprivileged communities that experienced rape or sexual assault. However, the phrase was co-opted by White women sharing their experience of being sexually violated or harassed on social media which resulted in Black girls’ experiences being left in the shadows, silencing their experiences. Here we describe the advocacy work of a community coalition dedicated to eradicating inequities Black girls’ experience in systems, including schools, the criminal justice system, and social services. We document our work regarding Black girls' experiences of sexual harassment in schools. We developed a community-based participatory action research project to center Black girls' perspectives about sexual harassment. We administered anonymous surveys to 45 Black girls in grades 7–12. Our findings demonstrate that girls experience a range of sexual harassment behaviors in person and online and report numerous adverse emotional, physical, and educational impacts.
... Sexual harassment is considered as a component of sexual violence (Basile & Saltzman, 2002;Krug et al., 2002). Studies have linked the experience with a range of negative outcomes such as academic problems, school absenteeism, depression, anxiety, substance use, and adjustment problems (Chiodo et al., 2009;Dahlqvist et al., 2016;Goldstein et al., 2007;Gruber & Fineran, 2008;Hill & Kearl, 2011;Lipson, 2001). ...
Given widespread recognition of sexual violence as a public health concern, sexual harassment has garnered considerable attention from researchers and the public. Yet research with adolescent samples has typically focused on the experiences of victims rather than perpetrators, and males as perpetrators and females as victims. In the current article, we consider whether risk and protective factors operate similarly within and across sex assigned at birth. A national sample of youth, ages 14 and 15, were recruited via social media and surveyed online (N = 1,981). At the individual level, girls who sexually harassed others, were more likely to have a propensity to respond to stimuli with anger compared to boys who sexually harassed. At the relational level, girls who sexually harassed were more likely to be victims of sexual harassment compared to boys, and having a negative peer environment (have delinquent peers, seen someone get attacked, and know someone who has been sexually assaulted) was of particular importance in understanding why girls harass others. For boys who harass, family relations, having seen or heard about peer physical or sexual assault and bullying perpetration were important for contextualizing boys’ sexual harassment. As empathy increased, the relative odds of sexually harassing decreased for girls. Future research should explore motivations for perpetrating sexual harassment, bystander interventions, and longitudinal frameworks to identify causal patterns to determine which factors inhibit or facilitate sexual harassment.
... Received 29 November 2019; Received in revised form 28 May 2020; Accepted 4 June 2020 have been observed (Chiodo, Wolfe, Crooks, Hughes, & Jaffe, 2009;Meinck et al., 2016), such as trouble sleeping (Hill & Kearl, 2011), and anxiety and depression symptoms, which are mediated by gender, affecting girls more than boys (Bendixen et al., 2018). Sexual harassment in school contexts can also have a long-term impact and predict later difficulties in social adjustment (Goldstein, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2007), lower academic achievement (Lichty & Campbell, 2012), and high absenteeism and inability to focus attention on academic tasks as required (Meinck et al., 2016). ...
Background
Although a significant amount of literature has explored peer sexual harassment in higher education, little is known about peer sexual harassment in primary and middle school. Among existing studies, most have examined individual student characteristics that predict peer sexual harassment without considering the importance of the classroom and school context, which may prevent or promote such harassment.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to identify individual and school-related factors predicting sexual harassment victimization.
Methods
A sample of 17,364 Chilean students from Grades 5 through 8 in 405 schools with low socioeconomic status answered instruments concerning peer sexual harassment, other types of peer victimization and discrimination, and perceptions of classroom and school climate and norms against sexual harassment. Data were analyzed through hierarchical multivariate regression.
Results
Experiences of being sexual harassed by other students were reported by 13.5 % of students, with higher frequencies in male students, students from Grades 5 and 6, and students with lower individual socioeconomic status. School-related experiences of being discriminated against due to sexual orientation, ethnic origin, and disability were the strongest predictors of sexual harassment victimization.
Conclusion
We discuss how peer sexual harassment might be understood as a consequence of peer social discrimination based on sexism, racism, and ableism. We also discuss the need to provide inclusive school climate policies that allow all students to feel safe and included.
... Consistent with other studies (Bucchianeri et al., 2014;Goldstein, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2007;Gruber & Fineran, 2007), our findings show that sexual harassment was associated with adverse substance use and mental health outcomes among high school girls. New to the literature, we found that the number of places in which girls experience sexual harassment is also associated with adverse substance use and mental health outcomes. ...
Purpose:
Among a sample of adolescent girls, we assessed: 1) prevalence of sexual harassment by type, place of occurrence, and perpetrators; 2) association with substance use and poor mental health outcomes; and 3) the proportion of girls experiencing sexual harassment in more than one place and relation to study outcomes.
Methods:
We collected survey data from 159 sexually active girls (aged 15-19 years) recruited from an urban health clinic in Southern California. We used multivariable regression models to assess associations between sexual harassment in the past 6 months and the following outcomes: 1) substance use in past 30 days (alcohol use, binge drinking, and marijuana use, respectively); 2) other drug use ever; and 3) feelings of depression and anxiety, respectively, in past 30 days.
Results:
Almost two-thirds of girls (65.4%) reported experiencing sexual harassment in the past 6 months. Among those reporting recent harassment (n = 104), the abuse most frequently occurred in public spaces (on public transport [50.5%], at school [42.7%], and in their neighborhoods [39.8%]) and most often in the form of sexual comments, jokes, or gestures (57.2%), although 12.6% were "touched, grabbed, or pinched in a sexual way." The vast majority (82.7%) did not know the perpetrators (82.7%). Experiences of sexual harassment in the past 6 months were significantly associated with alcohol use (odds ratio [OR], 4.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0-10.2), binge drinking (OR, 4.2; 95% CI, 1.8-9.8), and marijuana use (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.2-5.7) in the past 30 days; other drug use ever (OR, 5.4; 95% CI, 1.8-16.4); and feelings of depression (OR: 2.7; 95%CI: 1.3-5.5) and anxiety (OR: 2.6; 95%CI: 1.2-5.5) in the past 30 days. Just over half (55.3%) reported sexual harassment in more than one place, which was also associated with poor substance use and mental health outcomes.
Conclusions:
Findings suggest that sexual harassment experiences are pervasive, occur in girls' immediate and everyday environments, and are associated with girls' substance use and adverse mental health outcomes.
... 553). These forms of harassing behavior can be intimidating and intrusive for adolescents (Goldstein, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2007). ...
In Egypt female adolescents are on a daily basis victims of various forms of sexual harassment as young females are unable to justify their feelings, thoughts and behaviors toward such violent and hostile activities. Therefore, this study develops an adolescents' sexual harassment index (ASHI), which measures female adolescents' perception of the threat of sexual harassment based on cultural, environmental and societal aspects. A total of 874 adolescents age 17-18 in Egypt participated in a survey consisting of 65 items of 7 variables: threat of SH, exposure, society awareness, child's characteristics, social engagement, religiosity and the effect of the media. Using factor analysis with oblimn rotation, the analysis explained 42.38 percent of the variation in the study variables, leading to a four-factors solution: society awareness, interpersonal characteristics, personal engagement and sense of self and reality.
... Indeed, several studies utilizing adult populations have linked sexual harassment and victim's emotional, psychological and behavioral responses, such as sadness, depression, anxiety, and interpersonal withdrawal (Collinsworth, Fitzgerald, & Drasgow, 2009;Willness, Steel, & Lee, 2007). Similar relationships between exposure to sexual harassment and difficulty in adjusting has been reported among adolescent populations as well (Goldstein, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2007;Hand & Sanchez, 2000). Drawing from the adolescent health literature, the construct of psychosocial maladjustment reflects the extent of psychological and behavioral difficulties in response to events of the adolescent years, and it served as the criterion variable in the current study. ...
Objective: The objective of the current study was to examine psychosocial maladjustment related to adolescents’ appraisals of workplace sexual behavior.
Method: High school aged adolescents with formal work experience completed a survey containing a battery of scales.
Results: Descriptive statistics addressing frequency of exposure showed that 45% of adolescent men reported at least one incident of sexual behavior directed at them personally, and 24% of adolescent women reported the same. Results further indicated that adolescent men reporting a positive experience after being targeted by direct sexual behavior at work also showed signs of internal maladjustment, such as depression and anxiety.
Conclusions: Gender role strain model, which suggests that the male adolescents experienced trauma when conforming to hyper-masculine norms that call for acceptance of sexual behavior, was offered to explain why male adolescents differed from female adolescents in associations between sexual behavior appraisal and maladjustment.
... This combination of factors; adults turning gender and sexuality issues in teenage relations into taboo subjects, the lack of training and support for professionals in the schooling systems to competently address these issues, absence of sexual education, highly internalized gender stereotypes and prejudice cause victims to be ashamed and fear stigmatization. Thus, they rarely share their problems with adults or seek help [13][14][15][16][17]. ...
Background
Preventing intimate partner violence or dating violence (DV) among adolescents is a public health priority due to its magnitude and damaging short and long-term consequences for adolescent and adult health. In our study protocol, we complement prior experiences in DV prevention by promoting protective factors (or assets) against gender violence such as communication skills, empathy and problem-solving capability through “Cinema Voice”, a participatory educational intervention based on adolescents’ strengths to tackle DV.
Methods/design
A longitudinal quasi-experimental educational intervention addressed to boys and girls ages 13–17 years, enrolled in secondary education schools in Alicante (Spain), Rome (Italy), Cardiff (UK), Iasi (Romania), Poznan (Poland) and Matosinhos (Portugal). Both process and results evaluations will be carried out with 100–120 intervention and 120–150 control group students per city at three time periods: before, after and 6 months after the implementation of the following interventions: 1) Training seminar with teachers to promote knowledge and skills on the core issues of intervention; 2) Workshops with intervention groups, where participants produce their own digital content presenting their perspective on DV; and 3) Short film exhibitions with participants, their families, authorities and other stakeholders with the objective of share the results and engage the community. Outcome measures are self-perceived social support, machismo, sexism, tolerance towards gender violence, social problem-solving and assertiveness as well as involvement in bullying/cyberbullying. Other socio-demographic, attitudes and violence-related co-variables were also included.
Discussion
This study may provide relevant information about the effectiveness of educational interventions that combine a positive youth development framework with educational awareness about the importance of achieving gender equality and preventing and combating gender violence. To our knowledge, this is the first study that involves six European countries in an educational intervention to promote violence protective assets among enrolled adolescents in secondary schools. This study may provide the needed tools to replicate the experience in other contexts and other countries.
Trial registration
Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03411564. Unique Protocol ID: 776905. Date registered: 18-01-2018.
... Subjection to sexual harassment is more common than being a victim of child sexual abuse or physical abuse (American Association of University Women, 2001;Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016b;Stoltenborgh, van Ijzendoorn, Euser, & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2011). Subjection to sexual harassment is stressful and associated with a number of negative behavioral and emotional consequences, such as fear and avoidant behavior in relation to school, emotional symptoms such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders, and behavioral symptoms such as conduct problems and substance use (American Association of University Women, 2001;Bucchianeri et al., 2014;Buchanan et al., 2013;Chiodo et al., 2009;Felix & McMahon, 2006;Goldstein, Malanchuk, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2007;Gruber & Fineran, 2007;Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016a;Marshall, Faaborg-Andersen, Tilton-Weaver, & Stattin, 2013;Petersen & Hyde, 2013). Tackling sexual harassment thus likely offers approaches for promoting adolescent mental health and preventing the onset of disorders. ...
Purpose: To explore whether sexual harassment experiences are more common among adolescents reporting romantic and erotic interests in the same sex and both sexes, when sociodemographic and mental health confounding are controlled for, and whether the associations are similar in both sexes and in different phases of adolescence.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey among a nationally representative dataset of 25,147 boys and 25,257 girls in comprehensive school, and 33,231 boys and 36,765 girls in upper secondary education. Self-reports of experiences of sexual harassment, and emotional (depression) and behavioral (delinquency) symptoms were used.
Results: All associations between sexual minority status and harassment diminished clearly when mental disorder dimensions were controlled for. In the comprehensive school sample (mean age 15.4 years), sexual harassment experiences were 4–7-fold more common among boys, and 1.5–3-fold among girls, with same-sex/both-sexes interest, compared to those interested exclusively in the opposite sex. In the upper secondary education sample (mean age 17.4 years), among boys, sexual harassment was reported 3–6-fold more commonly by those not exclusively heterosexually interested. Among older girls, a slight increase in sexual harassment experiences was seen among those interested in both sexes.
Conclusions: Sexual harassment experiences are associated with sexual minority status, particularly among boys. Confounding by mental disorders needs to be accounted for when studying sexual minority status and sexual harassment.
... Tradicionalmente ha sido considerada una forma de violencia de género o de discriminación (Gruber y Fineran, 2007). Autores como Goldstein, Malanchuck, Davis-Kean y Eccles (2007), enfatizan la naturaleza agresiva proactiva del fenómeno, que emerge junto a los cambios propios de la pubertad y el incremento del interés sexual en las relaciones interpersonales. Otros fijan la atención en las percepciones negativas de la víctima sobre la situación como indeseada e inaceptable (Attar-Schwartz, 2009;citado por Ortega et al., 2010). ...
Victimización sexual online de menores
Objective: The present study examined the independent and joint effects of bullying victimization and sexual harassment victimization on adolescent alcohol use over time within a community sample of adolescents. Method: Adolescents aged 13–15 years old at baseline (N = 800, Mage = 14.42, SD = 0.83; 57.5% female) recruited from Western New York State made five online survey reports of peer victimization and alcohol use over a 2-year period. Latent class growth analysis was used to identify trajectory classes of victimization from bullying and sexual harassment over time, and regression modeling was used to examine the associations with later alcohol use. Results: Three developmental courses were identified for bullying victimization (moderate/decreasing, high/decreasing, never or low) and for sexual harassment victimization (moderate/decreasing, moderate/increasing, never or low). Adolescents in the moderate/decreasing group of bullying victimization subsequently consumed more alcoholic drinks when they drank. Belonging to the moderate/increasing group of sexual harassment was associated with increased later alcohol intoxication and number of drinks. Bullying victimization and sexual harassment victimization were concurrently correlated over time. Adolescents who followed the joint trajectory group of moderately decreasing bullying and increasing sexual harassment were more likely to report increased later alcohol intoxication and number of drinks. Conclusions: Moderate levels of bullying victimization along with increasing sexual harassment victimization are associated prospectively with greater alcohol use in adolescence. Findings highlight the importance of considering the cumulative, joint effects of multiple types of peer victimization on adolescent health outcomes.
The sexual harassment of girls and women is a common occurrence that begins in early adolescence and continues into adulthood. Not only is experiencing sexual harassment common, but it is also widely accepted and tolerated. In the current article, we use the bioecological theory of sexual harassment of girls to explain why this may be. Specifically, we discuss that the perpetration and tolerance of sexual harassment is built on a foundation of gendered socialization, media consumption, peer interactions, and permissive school environments that encourages passivity and objectification in girls and aggressiveness and dominance in boys. We outline how this process begins in infancy and continues throughout development, ultimately fostering an environment in which the sexual harassment of girls and women flourishes. Important implications for preventing sexual harassment are also discussed.
The majority of youth experience some type of gendered harassment from their peers and these harassment experiences are related to a host of negative psychological, social, and academic outcomes. Much of this harassment occurs within schools; therefore, it is especially important to understand the role of schools and teachers in preventing and mitigating (or at times, exacerbating) youth’s experiences of gendered harassment. In this chapter, we will describe the prevalence and negative psychosocial outcomes associated with two common types of gendered harassment: sexual harassment (SH) and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE harassment). We will then discuss how schools may contribute to the prevalence of SH and SOGIE harassment, and how they can respond to and prevent SH and SOGIE harassment from occurring. We conclude by suggesting directions for future research and intervention work.
This chapter focuses on developmental issues in the primary prevention of aggressive behavior among children, adolescents, and emerging adults. The chapter emphasizes the importance of considering social, cognitive, and psychological development when designing and implementing primary prevention programs for youth. We also review developmental changes in aggressive behavior and associated social goals, discussing different forms and functions of aggression including variations in severity as well as relational/overt, cyberbullying and online aggression, and reactive/proactive distinctions. We also review research regarding sexual harassment and harassment based on gender, sexual orientation, and race, and we discuss prominent theories of the development of aggressive behavior. In our discussion of theory, we focus on Social Learning/Social Cognitive Information Processing (SCIP) Theory and aspects of Bioecological Theory. We conclude the chapter by specifically discussing what we know about the mediating mechanisms of aggression specifically from a SCIP perspective and how these can be utilized in developmentally sensitive prevention programs. Suggestions for future research and practice are also discussed, including ideas for online or socially distanced programming.
Objectives: Examines whether a personality characteristic, need for approval, moderates the relationship between harassment exposure and alcohol misuse over time in a college sample, and compare the results between genders. Participants: Six waves of data (fall 2011 to fall 2015) were collected from 1,240 study participants sampled from eight colleges and universities in the Midwestern United States. Methods: Two-level mixed modeling was conducted separately for exposure to sexual and generalized harassment and modeled separately for women and men. Results: In men only, need for approval significantly moderated the relationship between generalized harassment and binge drinking over time, where a higher need for approval put male students at increased risk. Conclusions: Harassment is a risk factor contributing to high levels of drinking among college students. School counseling centers and mental health professionals should take this factor into consideration, as well as individual personality characteristics when addressing student health and wellness.
Associations between sexual-harassment victimization and emotional problems are well-established. Still, the nature of this association, including the temporal order of the construct as well as whether it plays out on the between- or within-individual level is far from being understood. The aim of this study was to examine reciprocal links between sexual harassment victimization and emotional problems over time in early and mid-adolescence by separating between-individual from within-individual effects and by testing the moderating effect of ethnicity and gender. In the study, we made use of three waves of data with 1515 Swedish adolescents (50.6% girls, age 12.59 years at T1). Cross-lagged within-individual analyses showed that sexual harassment and emotional problems were related in a transactional manner. Gender, but not ethnicity, moderated the associations. The associations differed in early and mid-adolescence, perhaps because of normative school transitions. The findings have high theoretical value as it is on the within-individual level that the causal processes between being sexually harassed and experiencing emotional problems unfold. The study makes a unique contribution to the literature on sexual harassment and mental health among young people by revealing transactional associations on the within-individual level during a critical period for psychological and sexual development.
Sexual harassment (SH) in schools is unwanted and unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature that, when severe, offensive, and pervasive, creates a hostile environment that is prohibited under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. In the current mixed methods study, using analyses of school policies and reports, and student survey and qualitative data, we examined (a) whether public high schools’ policies about SH were in compliance with Title IX guidance, (b) whether SH policies were related to alumni's knowledge and attitudes about their schools’ SH policies, and (c) whether SH policies were related to alumni's experiences with and reporting of SH. Results indicated that, of the 172 school districts within one state, only one‐fourth of the school districts had SH policies in which SH was clearly defined and in which there were noted consequences for perpetrating SH. Despite students experiencing SH, very few students ever reported SH to an adult at school. However, of the small number of students who reported SH to an adult at school, 87.5% went to a school with an explicit SH policy. Many students stated that they did not report SH because they did not trust adults to handle it fairly or effectively.
The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of sexual harassment perpetrated by coaches in youth sports activities and to examine the association of those experiences with depression, anxiety, and stress in later life. Study participants were young men and women (n = 501; Mage = 20,86, SD = 1,81) who participated in sports before they turned 18 years old. The results showed that 25 % of participants experienced some form of sexual harassment by coaches while they were minors. Participants who had this kind of experience obtained higher results on depression, anxiety, and stress scales. The results indicate the need to undertake measures aimed at preventing and stopping sexual harassment in youth sport.
Sexual harassment is a common experience among middle and high school students across the United States. Being the target of and even witnessing sexual harassment is associated with a number of negative consequences for adolescents. This study sought to explore early adolescent boys’ and girls’ reasoning about (a) perpetrating sexual harassment (i.e., making comments about another student’s body), (b) confronting sexual harassment when they are the target, and (c) confronting sexual harassment when they are the bystander or witness. Participants were 142 seventh-grade students (46 boys, 96 girls) ranging from 11 to 14 years old ( Mage = 12.44 years, SDage = .61). Utilizing a quantitative content analysis, this study analyzed themes that emerged from adolescents’ open-ended responses to questions about sexual harassment and their perception of the consequences. The results suggest that adolescents’ reasoning about sexual harassment is complex, reflecting morality concerns, social pressures, and challenges with interpreting sexual interest within a context of sexually objectifying cultural scripts.
To better understand the well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) adolescents, this study examined the relations among bias-based peer victimization, sexual harassment, parental support, school belonging, sexual violence, and suicidal ideation in a sample of a total of 16,292 high school students from the U.S (TGNC n = 610). Midwest. Students completed self-report measures: 22% of TGNC adolescents reported being forced to take part in sexual activity, and 33% reported being sexually harassed. Tests of the individual parameters revealed four variables that differentiated between those who reported sexual victimization and those who did not. Results indicated that sexual harassment victimization, bias-based peer victimization, problematic drug use, and female sex assigned at birth predicted sexual victimization. Suicidal ideation was predicted by sexual victimization, sexual harassment victimization, bias-based peer victimization, and problematic drug use. Greater parental support and school belonging were associated with less suicidal ideation. Practitioners, teachers, and school administrators should be sure to intervene in instances of transphobic victimization and sexual harassment that occur in their classrooms and schools in order to address adverse outcomes for TGNC adolescents.
This preliminary study explored a person-group dissimilarity hypothesis in the context of adolescent sexual harassment. Theory suggests that victimized youth are expected to experience worse outcomes if they perceive victimization to be a rare experience among their peers. This study comprised 435 middle school students who reported on their experiences of sexual harassment (victimization and witnessing), shame, and depressive symptoms. We tested a cross-sectional conditional indirect-effects model, with shame mediating the relationship between victimization and depressive symptoms (the indirect effect) and with witnessing as a moderator of the indirect effect. For all students, shame mediated the relationship between victimization and depressive symptoms. For female students, there was a buffering effect of witnessing, whereby the indirect effect was weaker at high levels of witnessing. These findings have potential implications for theory and intervention, suggesting the importance of examining young people’s social contexts to better understand their responses to sexual harassment.
This article describes the roles of gender, power, and relationship in peer sexual harassment for 342 urban high school students. Overall, 87% of girls and 79% of boys report experiencing peer sexual harassment, whereas 77% of girls and 72% of boys report sexually harassing their peers during the school year. Girls experience the more overtly sexual forms of harassment more often than boys and boys perpetrate sexual harassing behaviors more often than girls. Hypotheses of a relationship between power, gender, and the perpetration of peer sexual harassment are supported.
This study examined, longitudinally, adolescents' self-ratings of timing of puberty and how these perceptions are related to an objective measure of pubertal timing, pubertal status, and feelings about their pubertal timing during 7th, 8th, and 12th grades. There is moderate consistency in self-reported pubertal timing across adolescence. Perceptions of pubertal timing at 12th grade were predicted by both actual pubertal timing and 8th-grade perceptions. Furthermore, the direct comparison of perceived timing with an objective timing measure indicated that perceptions became more accurate by 12th grade. Feelings about pubertal timing were related to perceived timing but not to the objective measure of pubertal timing. These results suggest that actual and perceived timing are overlapping but distinct timing measures that reflect different biological and psychosocial processes.
How is adolescent functioning related to experiences of connection, regulation, and supportfor autonomy at home, in school, and with peers? Using datafrom the Maryland Adolescent Growth in Context (MAGIC) study (an ongoing longitudinal study of 1,387 African Amenrican and European American adolescents and theirfamilies), it was found that: (a)family demographic characteristics helped predict only academicperformance; (b) although positive experiences on one indicator predicted positive experiences on the other two, each of the three types of experience explained a unique amount of variance in adolescentfunctioning (e.g., regulation related most strongly to externalizing behaviors; in contrast, supportfor autonomy related to all aspects offunctioning); (c) although adolescents with positive interactions in one context were likely to have positive interactions in the other contexts, characteristics of each context explained unique amounts of variance infifuctioning (e.g., experiences with siblings emerged as uniquely important predictors of mental health).
[classifies] motivations underlying the relative lack of social interaction [into three categories—inhibition, genuine introvertedness or low sociability, lack of acceptance by peers]
will the reaction patterns associated with their victim status in school be found . . . in young adulthood / are these individuals still socially withdrawn and isolated, maybe even harassed by their working or student companions / does the painful experience of being victimized over long periods of time leave certain scars on their adult personality even if they seem to function well in most respects / these and related issues are explored herein drawing from a follow-up study of young men at age 23, some of whom had been victims of bullying and harassment by peers for a period of at least three years, from Grade 6 through Grade 9 (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study examines how young adolescent girls’ pubertal development and perceptions of pubertal timing as well as their subjective experiences with their parents relate to the emergence of eating problems during later adolescence. The sample consisted of 240 White girls from 2 suburban communities near a large midwestern city. They were studied originally when they were in the 5th to 9th grades and again 2 years later (N = 177). They reported their daily experiences according to the Experience Sampling Method. Results indicate that adolescent girls’ positive relationships with both parents relate to healthier eating scores, both concurrently and longitudinally. Interactions of the pubertal and the experience with parents variables appear to be important for understanding eating problems in early adolescence.
In the present article, recent research on sex differences in aggressive styles is reviewed. The concept of indirect aggression is particularly presented and discussed. It is argued that it is incorrect, or rather, nonsensical, to claim that males are more aggressive than females. A theory regarding the development of styles of aggressive behavior is presented.
The goal of this study was to examine sexual harassment in early adolescence. Available data indicate that peer to peer sexual harassment is prevalent in high school and is associated with psychosocial problems for both victims and perpetrators. For the present study, we adopted a developmental contextual model to examine the possibility that this behavior develops during the late elementary and middle school years and is linked to the biological and social changes that occur at this time. Youths from Grades 6-8 (N = 1,213) enrolled in seven elementary and middle schools in a large south-central Canadian city were asked to report on their sexual harassment behaviors with same- and cross-gender peers; their pubertal development, and the gender composition of their peer network. The results revealed that cross-gender harassment was distinct from same-gender harassment, increased in frequency from Grade 6 to Grade 8, and was linked to pubertal maturation and participation in mixed-gender peer groups. The implications of a developmental contextual model for understanding the emergence of this problematic behavior in adolescence are discussed.
Bullying is a relationship problem in which power and aggression are used to cause distress to a vulnerable person. To assess and address bullying and victimization, we need to understand the nature of the problem, how the problem changes with age and differs for boys and girls, the relevant risk factors (those individual or environmental indicators that may lead to bullying and victimization), and the protective factors that buffer the impact of risk. For children involved in bullying, we need to assess its extent and the associated social, emotional, psychological, educational, and physical problems. Bullying is a systemic problem; therefore, assessments of bullying need to extend beyond the individual child to encompass the family, peer group, school, and community. We recommend that assessments at each of these levels reflect the scientific research on bullying and victimization. With attention to the problems associated with bullying, we can work collectively to make schools and communities safer for children and youth.
In this article, Nan Stein argues that sexual harassment in schools is a form of gendered violence that often happens in the public arena. She presents the narratives of girls and boys about their experience of sexual harassment in schools and finds parallels with cases documented in court records and depositions. While highly publicized lawsuits and civil rights cases may have increased public awareness of the issue, inconsistent findings have sent educators mixed messages about ways of dealing with peer-to-peer sexual harassment. The antecedents of harassment, she suggests, are found in teasing and bullying, behaviors tacitly accepted by parents and teachers. Stein makes a case for deliberate adult intervention and the inclusion of a curriculum in schools that builds awareness of these issues.
Previous research demonstrated a higher risk for problem behaviors among early as compared to late maturing girls. In the present study, the role of maturational timing was assessed within the framework of a developmental model for adolescent problem behavior. Data obtained twice, one year apart, on 62 girls in early adolescence (11 to 12 years of age) and 193 girls in middle adolescence (14 to 15 years of age) were compared. Girls self-reported information on maturational timing, parental support, peer rejection, self-derogation, transgression proneness, and contacts with deviant peers. In both age cohorts, peer rejection was related to more self-derogation, with both related to more contacts with deviant peers, mediated by transgression proneness in middle adolescence. Parental support protected against such contacts and in middle adolescence protected against transgression proneness and self-derogation. In middle adolescence, early maturation led to more contacts with deviant peers but lower self-derogation; similarly, in early adolescence early maturers reported less peer rejection. Thus, the predictions were generally supported except for the surprising result of lower self-derogation among early maturers.
Bullying, in the form of physically, verbally, relationally, or sexually aversive behaviors, increases as youngsters make the transition to middle school. To date, however, policy and research in education and educational psychology has attended only minimally to the social dynamics of school organization or peer groups that may underlie this crisis. We argue that a combination of school- and peer-level factors contribute to bullying, victimization, and sexual harassment. We suggest that adolescents' exploration of new social roles and their quest for status among peers are factors motivating aggression, especially as students make the transition from primary to middle school. More disturbing, and less studied, is the finding that adults in schools have a hand, either directly or indirectly, in perpetrating these acts. Suggestions for future research to guide policy are made.
This study uses the American Association of University Women 1993 survey on sexual harassment in America's schools, a national sample of high school students, to examine gender differences in the behavioral, emotional, and educational consequences of sexual harassment. Previous research indicates that a high percentage of both boys and girls experience sexual harassment and that the negative consequences are greater for girls. The authors use a feminist theoretical framework to show that girls' and boys' qualitatively different experiences account for part of this gender gap. Girls are far more likely to perceive harassment as harmful than boys and to experience a far greater frequency and severity of harassment. This article documents that girls are more likely to be targets of physical sexual harassment than boys and that physical harassment rather than derogatory or verbal and/or visual forms of harassment exacerbate the gender gap in educational outcomes.
This study investigates secondary school students' experiences of sexual harassment--and all the bullying, teasing, and touching it entails--and compares the results with those of the 1993 study "Hostile Hallways: The AAUW Survey on Sexual Harassment in America's Schools." Topics in the survey include students' knowledge and awareness of sexual harassment, personal experiences with sexual harassment in their school lives, and the emotional and behavioral impact of these experiences. A nationally representative sample of 2064 public school students in 8th through 11th grades was interviewed. Using self-administered questionnaires, 1559 students were surveyed during an English class, and 505 students were surveyed online. Students' answers were analyzed, where possible, to identify any difference by gender, race/ethnicity, grade level, and area of school. As in 1993, nearly all students say they know what sexual harassment is, and they provided their own definitions when asked. Major findings reveal the following: significant numbers of students are afraid of being hurt or bothered in their school lives; sexual harassment is widespread in school life; school sexual harassment has a negative impact on students' emotional and educational lives; students today are more likely than those in 1993 to say their schools have a policy or distribute literature on sexual harassment; nearly all students surveyed know what sexual harassment is; the most upsetting examples of sexual harassment in school life involve speech as well as actions; a sizeable minority of students reports high levels of sexual harassment in school; most experiences involve students harassing students, although many experiences involve school adults harassing students; and slightly more than half (54%) of students say they have sexually harassed someone during their school lives. Contains 29 figures and an afterword. Appended is the research methodology with additional figures. (BT)
