Top

Published in:

01-04-2020 | Original Paper

Young Men’s Attitudes and Neighborhood Risk Factors for Sexual Harassment Perpetration in the United States

Authors: Elizabeth A. Mumford, Nnenna Okeke, Emily Rothman

Published in: Journal of Community Health | Issue 2/2020

Abstract

Sexual harassment is a pervasive problem predominantly perpetrated by men. Creating cultural shifts to prevent men’s sexual harassment perpetration requires attention to community as well as individual factors. Study data were collected from a cohort of 768 youth and young adult males ages 10–18 at baseline (2013), with follow-up 3 years later. Multivariable regression was applied to assess the role of neighborhood characteristics, including crime rates, gender equality, and concentrated disadvantage, adjusting for individual sociodemographics and views on traditional gender stereotypes. The self-reported prevalence of sexual harassment perpetration was 8.8%. In neighborhoods characterized by greater concentrated disadvantage, the likelihood of male sexual harassment perpetration was significantly lower than in neighborhoods characterized by greater advantages. Relative neighborhood advantage was associated with sexual harassment perpetration even controlling for the significant positive association between espousing traditional gender stereotypes and perpetration of sexual harassment. The relative rates of neighborhood crime and gender equality did not predict young males’ sexual harassment perpetration. In sum, young men’s perpetration of sexual harassment behaviors is more common in more advantaged communities, underscoring the importance of awareness that, beyond individual attitudes, there is a collective social influence on individual behavior.

Chiodo, D., Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C., Hughes, R., & Jaffe, P. (2009). Impact of sexual harassment victimization by peers on subsequent adolescent victimization and adjustment: A longitudinal study. Journal of Adolescent Health,45(3), 246–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.01.006.CrossRefPubMed

Gruber, A., Cohen, A. J., & Mogulescu, K. (2016). Penal welfare and the new human trafficking intervention courts. Florida Law Review,68, 1333.

Gruber, J., & Fineran, S. (2008). Comparing the impact of bullying and sexual harassment victimization on the mental and physical health of adolescents. Sex Roles,59(1–2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9431-5.CrossRef

Hill, C., & Kearl, H. (2011). Crossing the line: Sexual harassment in schools. Washington, DC: American Association of University Women.

Gomez, A. M. (2010). Testing the cycle of violence hypothesis: Child abuse and adolescent dating violence as predictors of intimate partner violence in young adulthood. Youth & Society,43(1), 171–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x09358313.CrossRef

Farrington, D. P. (1991). Childhood aggression and adult violence: Early precursors and later life outcomes. The Development and Treatment of Childhood Aggression,5, 29.

Conroy, N. E. (2013). Rethinking adolescent peer sexual harassment: Contributions of feminist theory. Journal of School Violence,12(4), 340–356.CrossRef

Jewell, J., Spears Brown, C., & Perry, B. (2015). All my friends are doing it: Potentially offensive sexual behavior perpetration within adolescent social networks. Journal of Research on Adolescence,25(3), 592–604. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12150.CrossRef

Clear, E. R., Coker, A. L., Cook-Craig, P. G., Bush, H. M., Garcia, L. S., Williams, C. M., et al. (2014). Sexual harassment victimization and perpetration among high school students. Violence Against Women. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801214551287.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

10.

McMaster, L. E., Connolly, J., Pepler, D., & Craig, W. M. (2002). Peer to peer sexual harassment in early adolescence: A developmental perspective. Development and Psychopathology,14(1), 91–105.CrossRef

11.

Fineran, S., & Gruber, J. E. (2009). Youth at work: Adolescent employment and sexual harassment. Child Abuse and Neglect,33(8), 550–559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2009.01.001.CrossRefPubMed

12.

Ménard, K. S., Hall, G. C. N., Phung, A. H., Ghebrial, M. F. E., & Martin, L. (2003). Gender differences in sexual harassment and coercion in college students: Developmental, individual, and situational determinants. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,18(10), 1222–1239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260503256654.CrossRefPubMed

13.

Yoon, E., Stiller Funk, R., & Kropf, N. P. (2010). Sexual harassment experiences and their psychological correlates among a diverse sample of college women. Affilia,25(1), 8–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109909354979.CrossRef

14.

Espelage, D., & Holt, M. (2007). Dating violence & sexual harassment across the bully-victim continuum among middle and high school students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,36(6), 799–811. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9109-7.CrossRef

15.

Fineran, S., & Bennett, L. (1999). Gender and power issues of peer sexual harassment among teenagers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,14(6), 626–641.CrossRef

16.

Mitchell, K. J., Ybarra, M. L., & Korchmaros, J. D. (2014). Sexual harassment among adolescents of different sexual orientations and gender identities. Child Abuse and Neglect,38(2), 280–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.09.008.CrossRefPubMed

17.

Taylor, B. G., Liu, W., & Mumford, E. A. (2019). Profiles of youth in-person and online sexual harassment victimization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518820673.CrossRefPubMed

18.

Fineran, S., & Bolen, R. M. (2006). Risk factors for peer sexual harassment in schools. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,21(9), 1169–1190. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260506290422.CrossRefPubMed

19.

Lee, V. E., Croninger, R. G., Linn, E., & Chen, X. (1996). The culture of sexual harassment in secondary schools. American Educational Research Journal,33(2), 383–417.CrossRef

20.

Macmillan, R., Nierobisz, A., & Welsh, S. (2000). Experiencing the streets: Harassment and perceptions of safety among women. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency,37(3), 306–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427800037003003.CrossRef

21.

Fairchild, K., & Rudman, L. A. (2008). Everyday stranger harassment and women’s objectification. Social Justice Research,21(3), 338–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-008-0073-0.CrossRef

22.

Smith, R., Gallagher, M., Popkin, S., Mireles, A., & George, T. (2014). Coercive sexual environments: What MTO tells us about neighborhoods and sexual safety. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research,16(1), 85–112.

23.

Mustaine, E. E., Tewksbury, R., Huff-Corzine, L., Corzine, J., & Marshall, H. (2014). Community characteristics and child sexual assault: Social disorganization and age. Journal of Criminal Justice,42(2), 173–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2013.06.016.CrossRef

24.

Cobbina, J. E., Miller, J., & Brunson, R. K. (2008). Gender, neighborhood danger, and risk-avoidance strategies among urban African-American Youths. Criminology,46, 673.CrossRef

25.

Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science,277(5328), 918–924.CrossRef

26.

Harned, M. S., Ormerod, A. J., Palmieri, P. A., Collinsworth, L. L., & Reed, M. (2002). Sexual assault and other types of sexual harassment by workplace personnel: A comparison of antecedents and consequences. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,7(2), 174–188. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.7.2.174.CrossRefPubMed

27.

Burn, S. M. (2019). The psychology of sexual harassment. Teaching of Psychology,46(1), 96–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628318816183.CrossRef

28.

McDonald, P. (2012). Workplace sexual harassment 30 years on: A review of the literature. International Journal of Management Reviews,14(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00300.x.CrossRef

29.

Schnoll, J. S., Connolly, J., Josephson, W. J., Pepler, D., & Simkins-Strong, E. (2015). Same- and cross-gender sexual harassment victimization in middle school: A developmental-contextual perspective. Journal of School Violence,14(2), 196–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2014.906311.CrossRef

30.

Pina, A., Gannon, T. A., & Saunders, B. (2009). An overview of the literature on sexual harassment: Perpetrator, theory, and treatment issues. Aggression and Violent Behavior,14(2), 126–138.CrossRef

31.

Lei, M.-K., Simons, R. L., Simons, L. G., & Edmond, M. B. (2014). Gender equality and violent behavior: How neighborhood gender equality influences the gender gap in violence. Violence and Victims,29(1), 89.CrossRef

32.

Berdahl, J. L. (2007). Harassment based on sex: Protecting social status in the context of gender hierarchy. Academy of Management Review,32(2), 641–658. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.24351879.CrossRef

33.

Shute, R. H. (2017). A test in the high school context of Berdahl’s status theory of sex-based harassment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517734862.CrossRefPubMed

34.

Taylor, B., & Mumford, E. (2016). A national descriptive portrait of adolescent relationship abuse: Results from the national survey on teen relationships and intimate violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,31(6), 963–988. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514564070.CrossRefPubMed

35.

Sampson, R. J., & Graif, C. (2009). Neighborhood social capital as differential social organization: Resident and leadership dimensions. American Behavioral Scientist,52(11), 1579–1605. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764209331527.CrossRef

36.

Begany, J. J., & Milburn, M. A. (2002). Psychological predictors of sexual harassment: Authoritarianism, hostile sexism, and rape myths. Psychology of Men & Masculinity,3(2), 119.CrossRef

37.

Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist,56(2), 109–118. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.2.109.CrossRefPubMed

38.

Mulvey, K. L., & Killen, M. (2015). Challenging gender stereotypes: Resistance and exclusion. Child Development,86(3), 681–694. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12317.CrossRefPubMed

39.

Okeke, N. L., Mumford, E. A., & Rothman, E. F. (2019). Adolescent relationship aggression perpetration and victimization in the context of neighborhood gender equality. Violence and Gender,6(2), 131–138. https://doi.org/10.1089/vio.2018.0028.CrossRef

40.

Chamberlain, L. J., Crowley, M., Tope, D., & Hodson, R. (2008). Sexual harassment in organizational context. Work and Occupations,35(3), 262–295. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888408322008.CrossRef

Title: Young Men’s Attitudes and Neighborhood Risk Factors for Sexual Harassment Perpetration in the United States
Authors: Elizabeth A. Mumford
Nnenna Okeke
Emily Rothman
Publication date: 01-04-2020
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Community Health / Issue 2/2020
Print ISSN: 0094-5145
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3610
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00738-2

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Young Men’s Attitudes and Neighborhood Risk Factors for Sexual Harassment Perpetration in the United States

Abstract

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 2/2020

Community Perceptions of Comprehensive Harm Reduction Programs and Stigma Towards People Who Inject Drugs in Rural Virginia

A Youth Health Leadership Program: Feasibility and Initial Outcomes

Effectiveness of Community-Based Health Promotion Interventions in Urban Areas: A Systematic Review

Association of State Legislation of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination with Vaccine Uptake Among Adolescents in the United States

Increasing Viral Hepatitis Knowledge Among Urban Ethnic Minority Youth: Findings from a Community Based Prevention Intervention

Healthcare Disparities Identified Between Hmong and Other Asian Origin Groups Living with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection in Sacramento County 2014–2017