Undergraduates' Perceptions of High School Experiences

Abstract

Sexual harassment is common in high schools and research has provided in-depth information about the frequency and types of sexually harassing behaviors. Female students experience more sexual harassment and are more negatively affected than their male counterparts. Although sexual harassment is frequently occurring in schools, very few students report these behaviors to anyone, in particular to school staff. This study sought to identify reasons why students chose not to report sexually harassing behaviors to school staff. Participants were 197 first-year undergraduate females in introductory psychology courses. Participants completed a modified version of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) survey which collected information on demographics, if they experienced sexually harassing behaviors during high school, if they reported these behaviors, the reasons why they chose not to report, if they had knowledge of their school's sexual harassment policy, and if they perceived they had been sexually harassed. Overall, there was variability between the different behaviors and why students chose not to report. The most common reasons were related to not finding the behaviors offensive enough or it not occurring to them to tell anyone about the behaviors. In addition, of statistical significance is that reporters of sexually harassing behaviors more often indicated they had been sexually harassed and non-reporters more often indicated they had not been sexually harassed. These findings suggest that there may be a need for further education about sexual harassment in high schools as a means to enhance school culture, raise student awareness about behaviors that constitute sexual harassment, and to make school staff more appealing confidants for students.