University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2020 Nov;35(23-24):5997-6016. doi: 10.1177/0886260517723746. Epub 2017 Aug 21.
Gendered harassment, including sexual harassment and homophobic name-calling, is prevalent in adolescents and is linked to negative outcomes including depression, anxiety, suicidality, substance abuse, and personal distress. However, much of the extant literature is cross-sectional and rarely are perpetrators of these behaviors included in studies of outcomes. Therefore, the current study examined the effects of longitudinal changes in gendered harassment perpetration and victimization on changes in mental health outcomes among a large sample of early adolescents. Given that these behaviors commonly occur in the context of a patriarchal society (males hold power), we also investigated the impact of gender on gendered harassment. Participants included 3,549 students from four Midwestern middle schools (50.4% female, 49% African American, 34% White) at two time points (13 and 17 years old). Results indicated that increases from age 13 to 17 years in sexual harassment perpetration and victimization and homophobic name-calling perpetration and victimization predicted increases in depression symptoms and substance use. Gender did not moderate these pathways. These findings highlight that negative outcomes are associated with changes in gendered harassment among adolescents and emphasize the importance of prevention efforts. Implications for school interventions are discussed.
性别骚扰，包括性骚扰和恐同辱骂，在青少年中很普遍，与包括抑郁、焦虑、自杀意念、药物滥用和个人困扰在内的负面结果有关。然而，现有的大部分文献都是横断面的，很少有这些行为的肇事者包括在对结果的研究中。因此，本研究考察了大量早期青少年样本中性别骚扰行为的纵向变化对心理健康结果变化的影响。鉴于这些行为通常发生在父权制社会（男性拥有权力）的背景下，我们还研究了性别的性别骚扰的影响。参与者包括来自四所中西部中学的 3549 名学生（50.4%女性，49%非裔美国人，34%白人），在两个时间点（13 岁和 17 岁）进行了研究。结果表明，从 13 岁到 17 岁，性骚扰行为和受害行为以及恐同辱骂行为和受害行为的增加预测了抑郁症状和药物使用的增加。性别并没有调节这些途径。这些发现强调了在青少年中性别骚扰的变化与负面结果有关，并强调了预防工作的重要性。讨论了对学校干预措施的影响。
