Given the rapid increase in studies of bullying and peer harassment among youth, it becomes important to understand just what is being researched. This study explored whether the themes that emerged from "children's" definitions of bullying were consistent with theoretical and methodological operationalizations within the research…

For 50 years, laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended in 1991, and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 have protected women from overt discrimination. Although gender inequity persists in today's workplace, its presence and effects continue to be underestimated by the relevant stakeholders. Informal observations have shown that college…

This article describes a process undergone by M.B.A. students in a graduate level course focusing on the subject of sexual harassment. As part of the assignments of the course the students conducted more than 200 interviews on this issue and wrote of their experiences and impressions gained from the process. The findings of the interviews are…

This article reports on a small exploratory study of adolescent girls' experiences of sexual harassment and abuse while attending secondary school in Karnataka State, South India. In South Asia, public discussion of sexual matters, especially relating to children, is largely taboo, and the study uncovers a hidden aspect of schooling, which…

Using a message interpretation perspective, this study (N = 379) examined how sex of the student, sex of the teacher, and the setting affect the messages students receive from a teacher's excessive use of immediacy. Results reveal that students interpret excessive immediacy from female teachers as caring, but the same behavior from male teachers…

Astin's (1977, 1991, 1993) input-environment-outcome (I-E-O) model provided a conceptual framework for this study which measured 156 male college students' willingness to prevent rape (outcome variable). Predictor variables included personal attitudes (input variable), perceptions of close friends' attitudes toward rape and rape prevention…

The current study used an experimental design to evaluate a sexual violence prevention program based on a community of responsibility model that teaches women and men how to intervene safely and effectively in cases of sexual violence before, during, and after incidents with strangers, acquaintances, or friends. It approaches both women and men as…

Examined supposition that, because males' and females' experiences with sexual harassment are becoming more similar, their attitudes toward sexual harassment may also have become more similar. Findings from 157 college students indicated that males and females differed in their attitudes about sexual harassment but not in their judgments of sexual…

The propensity of 67 predominantly white male and 97 female college students to engage in severe forms of sexual harassment was studied. Results indicate that males have significantly higher propensities to harass members of the opposite sex than females. Males and females also attended to different aspects of harassment situations. (SLD)

Examined the impact of harasser gender, participant gender, and presence of bystanders on perceptions of penalty appropriateness for peer sexual harassment in college. Students responded to descriptions of potential sexual harassment between one college student and another and described the appropriate penalty. Participants were more likely to…

Research suggests that male and female college students have different views of what constitutes sexual coercion and divergent standards for behavior in which they themselves would engage. It is likely that students experience different realities and perceive campus quality of life in different terms depending on their gender. An exploratory…

When 354 college students (approximately 70% European American) were asked to rate 19 ambiguous instructor immediacy behaviors for appropriateness, males rated 12 of the 19 to be significantly more appropriate than females and indicated significantly greater comfort with 14 of 19 behaviors. (SLD)

Examined the perceptions of sexual harassment of male and female college students and perceptions of perpetrator and victim traits. Results from 296 male and 295 female college students indicate that women see the presented scenario as more sexually harassing than males did and that both men and women were influenced by perpetrator attractiveness.…

Summarizes findings from a national survey of 2,064 public school students in grades 8-11 regarding their perceptions of and experiences with bullying and sexual harassment at school. Students reported that sexual harassment (both words and actions) happened frequently in school, occurred under the noses of teachers, began in elementary school,…

Individual differences may partly explain how students react to potentially offensive sexual behaviors from peers. This study focused on situational and personal characteristics that may make such behaviors more or less upsetting. Six hundred and thirty two Quebecois high-school students in Grades 8-11 completed questionnaires regarding their…