Does the Factor Structure of Military Sexual Stressors in Men Correspond to Women's? A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Using the Sexual Harassment Inventory

Technology-facilitated sexual harassment and mental health symptoms among young-adult female student sample in Bangladesh

PURPOSE

To assess the prevalence of technology-facilitated sexual harassment (TFSH) and its relationships to adverse mental health issues among young adult female students in Bangladesh.

METHODS

We collected data for this cross-sectional study from July to September 2022 from 455 female students at a large university in Bangladesh. The prevalence of TFSH, self-reported distress, stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts was assessed. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to assess the identified relationships.

RESULTS

This study found that nearly half of the respondents (46.1%) reported having experienced TFSH. The prevalence of suicidal thoughts, moderate to severe distress, stress, anxiety, and depression was 34.9%, 47.7%, 78.2%, 36.9%, and 59.8%, respectively. Results also reported that, compared to the respondents who did not experience TFSH, those who experienced it were more likely to report adverse mental health issues with higher odds. For example, after controlling for sociodemographic variables, the odds of moderate to severe distress (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 3.70; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.36-5.78), stress (AOR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.25-3.49), anxiety (AOR: 3.80; 95% CI: 2.40-6.03), depression (AOR: 3.32; 95% CI: 2.12-5.18), and having suicidal thoughts (AOR: 4.86; 95% CI: 2.29-7.89) were higher among female students experiencing TFSH than those who did not experience it.

CONCLUSIONS

TFSH harassment among young adult female students is common and significantly associated with different adverse mental health issues. Attempts at primary intervention for improving mental health status are required to take TFSH into consideration.

Investigating the Psychological Impact of Cyber-Sexual Harassment

The impact of cyber sexual harassment (CSH) on adult women and the factors influencing this impact are largely under-researched. Communication technologies provide novel means for people to threaten, communicate, and harass others. Victims of in-person sexual harassment (ISH) can experience negative symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, and negative body image. The current study explored the psychological impact of CSH in adult women to determine whether CSH predicts psychological difficulties. Adult female participants (N = 136) took part in an online, cross-sectional study; 44% of participants had experienced CSH and this was associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, trauma, and body image dissatisfaction. Younger victims, those who had been in a relationship for a shorter amount of time, those who had previously experienced of ISH, and those who had a higher number of social media followers were more likely to have experienced CSH. When controlling for demographic variables, CSH predicted anxiety, depression, trauma, and body image dissatisfaction; however, experience of ISH impacted upon body-image dissatisfaction over and above CSH. There is a need to routinely ask individuals accessing mental health services whether online interactions cause harm. Future research should examine these phenomena in more ethnically diverse samples.

From sexual harassment to sexual assault: Prevalence and correlates of sexual trauma in the French military

BACKGROUND

Sexual harassment (SH) is prevalent in military settings and dependent on the workplace environment. Few studies have investigated this issue in non-US military settings nor have examined how contextual and individual factors related to Military Sexual Trauma (MST) vary by gender.

METHODS

This study draws on a national sexual survey in the French military including 1268 servicemen and 232 servicewomen. We examined four sexual stressors (repeated sexual comments, sexual coercion, repeated unwanted verbal sexual attention and sexual assault (SA)) and two combined measures of verbal SH (comments, unwanted attention) and MST (all forms). We conducted multivariate logistic regressions to identify contextual and individual factors related to these outcomes.

RESULTS

36.7% of women and 17.5% of men experienced MST in the last year and 12.6% and 3.5% reported SA. Factors associated with verbal SH differed from those related to SA. The odds of verbal SH were elevated among men who had sex with men (OR = 3.5) and among women officers (OR = 4.6) while the odds of SA were elevated among men less than 25 years (OR = 3.5) and women with less than a high school diploma (OR = 10.9). The odds of SH increased by 20% to 80% when men worked in units with higher female representation, higher prevalence of MST (sexual comments, or sexual assault, coercion, repeated unwanted attention) and lower acceptance of women in the miliatry. The odds of SA also increased by 70% among men working in units with higher female representation and higher prevalence of sexual oppression. The odds of SA against women were particular high (OR = 5.7) in units with a high prevalence of sexual assault, coercion, or repeated unwanted attention.

CONCLUSION

MST is common in the French military, with women experiencing more severe forms than men. Our resuls call for programmatic action to reduce workplace factors related to verbal SH and SA in the French military.