Do Appearance Focused Cognitive Distortions Moderate the Relationship between Social Comparisons to Peers and Media Images and Body Image Disturbance?

The research questions addressed gender differences in the subjective appraisal of teens experiencing sexual harassment, and the psychosocial maturation of male and female teens appraising such events as threatening to their well-being. Using survey methodology, U.S. undergraduate women (n?=?316; 85% White Caucasian) and men (n?=?270; 85% White Caucasian) reported on their earliest formal work experiences (participants?? average age was M?=?19.03, SD?=?1.87). Results indicated that women, more than men, were more upset by, and were more likely to label an event as, sexual harassment. Results further demonstrated that men, particularly men who appraised harassment as bothersome and relied on behavioral coping, reported detriment to maturity outcomes of autonomy and social responsibility. Implications for a ??wimpy male?? hypothesis are discussed.     

Attitudes and perceptions of workers to sexual harassment

The authors investigated how individual factors (age, gender, gender role, past experiences of sexual harassment) and organizational factors (gender ratio, sexual harassment policies, the role of employers) related to workers' attitudes toward and perceptions of sexual harassment. In Study 1, participants were 176 workers from a large, white-collar organization. In Study 2, participants were 75 workers from a smaller, blue-collar organization. Individuals from Study 2 experienced more sexual harassment, were more tolerant of sexual harassment, and perceived less behavior as sexual harassment than did individuals from Study 1. For both samples, organizational and individual factors predicted workers' attitudes toward and experiences of sexual harassment. Individual factors-such as age, gender, gender role, past experiences of sexual harassment, and perceptions of management's tolerance of sexual harassment-predicted attitudes toward sexual harassment. Workers' attitudes, the behavioral context, and the gender of the victim and perpetrator predicted perceptions of sexual harassment. The authors discussed the broader implications of these findings and suggested recommendations for future research.     

Ideology or experience: A study of sexual harassment

“Ideology or Experience” is a replication and redefinition of a study done at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), Canada, which examined response biases with respect to the reporting of sexual harassment. In the replication, 192 William Paterson College (WPC), New Jersey, students were used to investigate the role of ideology and previous sexual harassment experiences in reporting sexual harassment incidents. Both studies assessed the relationship between one's experiences, perceptions, and attitudes toward sexual harassment. The WPC study, however, overcame acknowledged potential reporting biases by using face to face scale distribution rather than mailed questionnaires. Findings replicate most of the previous study and suggest that neither the experience of being sexually harassed nor a feminist ideology affects the reporting of sexual harassment. A gender by experience interaction was found with regard to tolerance of sexual harassment suggesting potential differences in cultural, and/or gender, attitudes toward sexual harassment. Further analysis, redefining the experience variable, as suggested by Mazer and Percival, also supports the notion that experience does not affect the reporting of sexual harassment.     

Upsetting Behavior: Reactions to Personal and Bystander Sexual Harassment Experiences

The current research was designed to examine objective and contextual factors related to the appraisal of potentially sexually harassing situations. Working female participants (n = 208) from a mid-sized southwestern university completed a workplace experiences survey in small groups. The majority of participants were Hispanic/Latina (77.9%). We predicted that characteristics of personal harassment experiences (e.g., number of distinct types of behaviors experienced, frequency, duration) and bystander harassment experiences would contribute independently to how upset women were by their own sexual harassment experiences. Results indicated that characteristics of personal harassment experiences and bystander experiences did predict how upset women were by their own gender harassment and by unwanted sexual attention experiences. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of considering multiple types of workplace stressors (e.g., personal and bystander sexual harassment experiences) and their relation to the appraisal process.     

LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF DISPOSITIONAL INFLUENCES AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT: EFFECTS ON JOB AND PSYCHOLOGICAL OUTCOMES

Research consistently demonstrates that sexual harassment is related to a variety of negative outcomes. Negative outcomes, however, may be influenced by respondents' dispositions or response biases rather than by their sexual harassment experiences alone. This study investigates relationships between negative outcomes and sexual harassment over time in an attempt to assess this possibility. Further, little empirical research on sexual harassment has explored the impact of various coping strategies on experiences of harassment over time. Sexual harassment experiences, job-related and psychological outcomes, and coping responses were obtained from 216 female faculty and staff members at a midwestern university at 2 times, 24 months apart. Patterns of results suggests that sexual harassment has important effects on job-related and psychological outcomes that operate independently of dispositional influences or response biases. Results also indicate that sexual harassment at Time 1 is a better predictor of harassment at Time 2 than are coping strategies.     

Ideology or experience? The relationships among perceptions,attitudes, and experiences of sexual harassment in university students

Relationships among sexual harassment experiences, perceptions about harassment (definitions, seriousness ratings, commonness estimates), and attitudes (about both harassment and sex roles) were examined in order to investigate the role of ideology and consciousness in the reporting of sexual harassment experiences. University students responding to a survey were divided by sex (74 males, 136 females) and level of harassment experience (high, moderate, low) in a 3×2 factorial design. Results indicated that high experiencers estimated that sexual harassment was made common among other students than those with less experience. Other perceptual variables and attitudes were unrelated to experience level. Significant sex differences were present for definitions, for the Sexual Harassment Attitude Scale, and for the Macho Scale. Significant relationships were also present among definitions, seriousness ratings, and the two attitude measures. Results suggest that reporting experiences of harassment appears relatively independent of ideology or a sensitized consciousness. Implications for issues of representativeness of samples in harassment survey research are discussed.This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Grant in Aid of Small Universities for UPEI.We gratefully acknowledge the invaluable work of our research assistants, Katie McInnis and Anne Marie McInnis.     

Individual Difference Correlates of the Experience of Sexual Harassment Among Female University Students1

Individuals often report experiences that conform to objective definitions of sexual harassment, but rarely report the subjective perception that they have been sexually harassed. The present research proposed that individual difference factors may mediate this commonly observed discrepancy. It was hypothesized that erotophobia, sexual inexperience, youth, sex role traditionality, repressing defensive style, and need for social approval have a weak inhibitory effect on reports of objectively defined experiences of sexual harassment, but a strong inhibitory effect on subjective perceptions that one has been sexually harassed. Results showed that individual difference factors including erotophobia, repressing defenses, and need for social approval were associated with fewer reported objective experiences of sexual harassment, while the base rate of subjective perception that one had been sexually harassed was very low, and this subjective perception was generally unassociated with individual difference factors. Discussion focuses on individual difference characteristics and motivation to ignore or to fail to report objective experiences of sexual harassment, and on suggestions for further research into the very high base rate of objectively defined experiences of sexual harassment and the very low base rate of perceived sexual harassment.     

Sources of variability in perceptions of and responses to sexual harassment

Social exchange theory was used to explain sexual harassment interactions in terms of perceived or actual inequities in incurred costs or rewards between targets and perpetrators. A factorial experiment was conducted in which the effects of severity of harassment, target response, target gender, and rater gender on perceptions of harassment, perpetrator appropriateness and target appropriateness and suggested responses to harassment were examined. Ninety-four male and 116 female students from two eastern universities served as subjects. The sample was approximately 90% Caucasian and was composed of traditional (18–22-year-old) undergraduates. Results indicated that all independent variables affected perceptions of and responses to sexual harassment situations.     

The effects of educational intervention on perceptions of sexual harassment

The effect of educational intervention upon perceptions of sexual harassment was investigated. Also investigated was whether gender differences in perceptions would be altered by educational intervention. Participants were 51 female and 45 male undergraduates (36% Caucasian, 31% Asian, 17% Hispanic, 14% African American, 2% unspecified) randomly assigned to three groups: one group viewed a video of vignettes about sexual harassment; another read educational literature about sexual harassment; and a third group, the control group, completed a placebo task. A comparison of pretest and posttest results on the Sexual Harassment Inventory indicated that educational intervention impacted perception of sexual harassment, with the literature intervention showing superiority over the video intervention. Gender differences in sensitivity to sexual harassment in favor of females prior to intervention evened out following intervention.     

Cultural Adaptation and Sexual Harassment in the Lives of Asian American Women

ABSTRACT

Despite the prevalence of both historical and current race- and gender-based stereotyping of Asian American women, little is known about their experiences and attitudes regarding sexual harassment. In this study, 109 Asian American women enrolled in a state university or a 2-year community college responded to questionnaires about cultural orientation, experiences of sexual harassment, and sexual harassment attitudes. Asian cultural orientation was associated with sexual harassment attitudes. Specifically, among women with low White cultural orientation, there was a statistically significant positive association between Asian cultural orientation and acceptance of sexual harassment. Results from this study have important implications for clinical practice with Asian American women, including issues of migration, cultural orientation, and the intersection of racism and sexism in the United States.     

IN HARM'S WAY: FACTORS RELATED TO PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS FOLLOWING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

The negative consequences for victims of sexual harassment are well documented. However, one area unexamined is the process that leads to harm. Researchers have proposed three influences (i.e., objective or stimulus factors, individual factors, and contextual factors) on the psychological, health-related, and organizational outcomes of sexual harassment. This article examines the relative contribution of these influences on psychological distress following sexual harassment. Two studies were conducted. First, we examined approximately 1,200 women in a financial industry class-action lawsuit. A series of hierarchical regressions and subsequent dominance analysis revealed that the severity of the experiences and attributions made about them were the most important influences on symptoms of psychological distress. Study 2 examined 85 female plaintiffs in sexual harassment litigation. Dominance analysis again showed that the magnitude of their experiences had the strongest relationship with distress. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Context Effects on Women’s Perceptions of Stranger Harassment

The current research suggests that perceptions of stranger harassment experiences (i.e., experiencing unwanted sexual attention in public) are altered by the context of the situation. Study one investigated which elements of the situation (context) might be most influential in increasing fear and enjoyment of the catcalling experience. Attractiveness and age of the perpetrator, time of day, and whether the victim was alone or with friends were some of the categories that were selected as influencing both fear and enjoyment. Study two used a perspective taking methodology to ask women to predict a target character’s emotions, fears, and behaviors in harassment situations that varied by context. Results mirror the sexual harassment literature and suggest that harassment by younger and attractive men is viewed as less harassing. Exploratory analyses were also conducted with women’s personal experiences with stranger harassment as well as gender differences in perceptions. Context plays a vital role in interpretation of stranger harassment.     

GENDER IDENTITY AND ADVERSARIAL SEXUAL BELIEFS AS PREDICTORS OF ATTITUDES TOWARD SEXUAL HARASSMENT

The present study replicates the work of Konrad and Gutek (1986) within a college sample and extends their work by examining the impact of gender identity and adversarial sexual beliefs as predictors of attitudes toward sexual harassment. One hundred seven college students indicated specific aspects of their direct experiences with sexual harassment and then completed several attitudinal measures. Endorsement of adversarial sexual beliefs and experience with sexual harassment significantly predicted negative (less tolerant) attitudes toward sexual harassment for male respondents. Strong gender group identity and the endorsement of adversarial sexual beliefs significantly predicted negative (less tolerant) attitudes toward sexual harassment for female students. Implications for the focus of intervention strategies within an academic environment are discussed.     

When the customer shouldn't be king: antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment by clients and customers

Much of the work in today's service industries requires women to deal with people outside of their organizations, namely, customers and clients, yet research on sexual harassment has focused almost exclusively on sexual harassment within organizations. Because the threat of harassment also operates at the boundaries of organizations, our existing models based solely on harassment inside organizations may be too restricted to adequately explain the harassment experiences of women in today's economy. To address this, the authors introduce a theoretical model of the antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment by clients and customers (CSH) and describe 2 field studies conducted to test components of the model. In Study 1, they developed a model of antecedents and consequences of CSH and illustrated that certain contextual factors (client power and gender composition of the client base) affect levels of CSH and that CSH is related to a number of job and psychological outcomes among professional women. Study 2 revealed that CSH is related to lower job satisfaction among nonprofessional women, above and beyond that which is accounted for by internal sexual harassment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

CRITICAL CLIMATE: RELATIONS AMONG SEXUAL HARASSMENT, CLIMATE, AND OUTCOMES FOR HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS AND BOYS

This study examined the relationships among peer-to-peer sexual harassment, school climate, adult-to-student harassment, and outcomes (psychological and physical well-being; school withdrawal and safety) for high school girls ( n = 310) and boys ( n = 259) recruited from seven public high schools in a Midwestern state. More frequent, severe peer harassment was associated with being female; holding climate perceptions that one's school is tolerant of the harassment of girls; and experiencing more frequent, severe harassment by school personnel. The correlates associated with outcomes varied by outcome, with climate exerting a consistent influence on boys' outcomes. Girls' outcomes were associated with climate, harassment, or both. Findings suggest that more frequent, severe experiences of sexual harassment in the schools are associated with direct, negative effects on girls and indirect, negative effects on boys and girls through a school climate that tolerates the harassment of girls.     

A Qualitative Investigation of Gang Presence and Sexual Harassment in a Middle School

Our goal with this qualitative case study was to explore the relationship between gang membership/presence of gangs in a middle school on the experiences of sexual harassment from the perspectives of both bullies and victims. This study sought to explore the characteristics of sexual harassment taking place in one middle school with a gang presence, the relationship of gang membership/presence to the types of sexual harassment experienced or witnessed, and student perceptions of the influence of gangs on sexual harassment. Thompson Middle School enrolls approximately 440 students. The surrounding community has more than 20 gangs with 2000 known gang members. Data were collected from 10 student interviews and unstructured observations from researcher field notes to capture experiences from one middle school. Analysis was performed using a modified van Kaam approach. Resulting themes centered on what students knew about sexual harassment, the types of sexual harassment they witnessed at their school, and reasons why they thought sexual harassment was occurring with such frequency. Sexual harassment appears to be heightened when there is a gang presence and visible gang activity. Incidents appear to happen more in the ‘open’ rather than hidden. The pressure to give into sexual advances by gang members appears to be especially heightened for girls. The types of sexual harassment acts described by the students as highly invasive with many classified as same-sex acts as initiated by the gang members. Sexual harassment prevention programs in schools with a gang presence need to incorporate discussions related to gang influence.     

Sexual Harassment and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among Asian and White Women

Sexual harassment is a prevalent problem that has been associated with negative psychological and physical health outcomes. Although sexual harassment has been linked to posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, little is known about how PTS symptoms that arose from sexual harassment experiences might be associated with psychological and physical health. This study examined the associations among sexual harassment, PTS symptoms, and psychological and physical well-being in a sample of Asian and White women. In addition, given the lack of research on sexual harassment among Asian women, we investigated the moderating role of ethnicity. Results indicated that greater sexual harassment frequency and PTS symptom severity predicted more depression, overall psychological distress, and physical symptoms. PTS symptom severity and ethnicity moderated the relationship between sexual harassment frequency and physical symptoms. We discuss the implications of these findings and directions for further research.     

Correlates of the objective and subjective experiences of sexual harassment in high school

The present study used retrospective reports of primarily white female university students to examine a number of issues related to sexual harassment in high school. Results indicate that underperception of sexual harassment in high school exists in that reports of objective experiences appear to be quite high and exceed the actual labelling of these experiences as sexual harassment. Those who reported having an overprotective mother, observing fewer positive behaviors between their parents, and experiencing unwanted sexual contact during childhood experienced a greater number of objectively-defined incidents of sexual harassment, than those who did not. Underperception of sexual harassment was associated with a greater frequency of negative behaviors directed toward the father by the mother, but was not related to experiencing unwanted sexual contact during childhood.We would like to thank W. A. Fisher, D. Hazlewood, J. Olson, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.