Responses of female undergraduates to scenarios of sexual harassment by male professors and teaching assistants.

This study sought to identify some of the factors that lead to assertive responding to sexual harassment. Responses of 120 female undergraduates (aged 19–50 yrs) to hypothetical scenarios of sexual harassment by male professors or teaching assistants were investigated. Two situational variables (ambiguity of the behavior and harasser status) and 1 individual difference variable (coping style) were examined. Participants completed a coping inventory and a questionnaire containing 1 of 4 harassment scenarios, with measures of affect, perceptions of the instructor, acknowledgment of the behavior as sexual harassment, and behavioral responses at 2 stages. Less ambiguous harassment situations were associated with greater negative affect, acknowledgment of sexual harassment, and more assertive responding. Coping style, but not harasser status, was also related to response strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)