Research School of Psychology, 2219The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
3286University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, UK.
J Interpers Violence. 2022 Dec;37(23-24):NP22921-NP22943. doi: 10.1177/08862605211073095. Epub 2022 Feb 15.
Sexual harassment and other forms of gendered discrimination are social psychological phenomena, yet the psychological impact of sexual harassment has rarely been examined through a model which considers the role of diverse of gender identity (i.e. norms). We used an experimental design to investigate how salient norms associated with the social identity of 'women' affect coping with sexual harassment. Participants who identified as women ( = 291) were randomly assigned to either a feminist, traditional feminine, or control norm condition, in which the salience of particular norms associated with womanhood was manipulated. Participants completed measures of personal growth (as a proxy for post-traumatic growth), and help-seeking intentions in response to a hypothetical sexual harassment scenario. Participants in the feminist condition reported significantly greater personal growth relative to those in the traditional feminine and control conditions. Participants in both the feminist and traditional feminine conditions reported significantly greater intentions to seek help from formal supports (e.g. primary care doctor), relative to those in the control condition. The findings suggest that the salience of social identities and their content may be valuable resources in promoting recovery following experiences of gendered discrimination and support the role of social identities in influencing post-trauma trajectories.
性骚扰和其他形式的性别歧视是社会心理现象，但性骚扰的心理影响很少通过考虑性别认同多样性的模型来研究（即规范）。我们使用实验设计来研究与“女性”社会身份相关的显著规范如何影响应对性骚扰的方式。被认定为女性的参与者（n=291）被随机分配到女权主义、传统女性或控制规范条件下，其中与女性身份相关的特定规范的显著性被操纵。参与者完成了个人成长（作为创伤后成长的替代指标）和针对假设性骚扰情景的寻求帮助意图的测量。与传统女性和控制条件相比，女权主义条件下的参与者报告的个人成长显著更高。与控制条件相比，女权主义和传统女性条件下的参与者都表示更愿意从正式支持（例如初级保健医生）中寻求帮助。研究结果表明，社会认同及其内容的显著性可能是促进性别歧视经历后恢复的有价值资源，并支持社会认同在影响创伤后轨迹中的作用。
