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Sexual Harassment: A Preliminary Test of an Integrative Model 1
Author(s) -
HessonMcinnis Matthew S.,
Fitzgerald Louise F.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1997.tb00276.x
Subject(s) - harassment , psychology , social psychology , path analysis (statistics) , assertiveness , context (archaeology) , test (biology) , paleontology , statistics , mathematics , biology
Despite the recent increase in research on sexual harassment, most studies have examined the relevant variables in isolation, and little is known concerning the ways in which they may interact or the relative importance of their effects for individuals or organizations. Fitzgerald and her colleagues (Fitzgerald, Hulin, & Drasgow. 1995; Fitzgerald & Ormerod, 1993) proposed a model of the antecedents and outcomes of sexual harassment in organizations. The present study examines a modified version of this model using path analysis with a sample of women employed by the federal government in the late 1980s. These analyses support the basic form of the model, suggesting that sexual harassment is a joint function of the gender context of the victim's job, her relative vulnerability, and the tolerance of the organization for sexual harassment. In turn, harassment was shown to have a negative impact on work and health‐related outcomes, exacerbated by assertive coping responses. The implications for organizations are discussed along with recommendations for more stringent tests of the model.