Peer Sexual Harassment and Deliberate Self-Injury: Longitudinal Cross-Lag Investigations in Canada and Sweden

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.06.009

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 53, Issue 6, December 2013, Pages 717-722

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.06.009 Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

Although the receipt of peer sexual harassment in schools has been linked to deliberate self-injury, the direction of association over time has not been tested. Two longitudinal studies examined whether receipt of peer sexual harassment within schools predicts engagement in deliberate self-injury or vice versa. Differences between boys and girls were also tested.

Methods

Surveys were conducted in two countries, Canada and Sweden. Measures of sexual harassment and deliberate self-injury were administered yearly in classrooms. Two waves of data were collected in the Canadian study (N = 161, 59.6% girls, mean age = 13.82 years); three waves of data were collected in Sweden (N = 513, 47% girls, mean age = 13.23 years).

Results

In the Canadian study, deliberate self-injury predicted subsequent peer sexual harassment; the converse relationship was not significant. No significant gender differences were found. Across the three waves of the Swedish study, peer sexual harassment predicted self-injury from T1 to T2, and self-injury predicted peer sexual harassment from T2 to T3. However, self-injury did not mediate peer sexual harassment at T1 and T3. Tests of gender differences revealed self-injury predicted sexual harassment from T2 to T3 among Swedish girls but not boys.

Conclusions

Adolescents who deliberately self-injure may be vulnerable to sexual harassment by peers at school. Cultural norms may have a role in whether this process applies primarily to girls or to both genders. Sexual harassment by peers may also increase self-injury, but this is not subsequently linked to increases in receipt of sexual harassment.

Section snippets

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is a form of interpersonal aggression often defined as unwanted sexual attention [5]. Sexual harassment among middle and high school students encompasses a broad spectrum of behaviors that may be physical (e.g., unwanted touching, pulling at clothing) or nonphysical (e.g., making sexual jokes or gestures, homophobic comments) [4].

There are significant gender differences in the frequency of peer sexual harassment victimization and the consequences. Girls are more often subjects

Deliberate self-injury

Deliberate self-injury is the direct and intentional destruction of one's body tissue without a fatal outcome [11], [12]. Self-injury behaviors common among adolescents include cutting, hitting, burning, and scratching themselves [13], with most adolescents using more than one mode [14]. The prevalence of deliberate self-injury is about 18% among adolescents around the globe [11]. The small portion of adolescents who engage in repetitive self-injury tend to have psychological problems such as

Sexual harassment, peer victimization and self-injury

Some factors that predispose adolescents to peer victimization are similar to those observed in adolescents engaging in deliberate self-injury. Youth with low self-regard and behavioral vulnerabilities, such as anxiety, poor social skills, physical weakness [21], [22], or histories of family violence [23] are more likely to experience peer victimization. Moreover, youth who are victimized develop lower self-regard, propagating a vicious cycle [22]. It is also possible that youth who engage in

Aims of this study

Our investigation used longitudinal data from two countries (Canada and Sweden) to study the associations between receipt of peer sexual harassment and self-injury. Using cross-lag analysis, we aimed to determine not only whether the stress of dealing with sexual harassment might contribute to engaging in self-injury, but also whether the opposite relationship might exist—whether these vulnerable adolescents who injure themselves get pegged as “victims” and therefore become targets of sexual

Overview

In each country, measures were administered during regular class periods by trained researchers and without teachers present. All waves of data collection were 1 year apart.

Plan of analysis

To examine the directions of relations between sexual harassment and self-injury, we used cross-lagged analysis using structural equation modeling. A two-wave model was used in study 1 and a three-wave model was used in study 2. Waves are referred to as time 1 (T1), T2, and so on in the reporting of results.

The first step of

Study 1

Table 1 lists descriptive statistics and correlations between the variables. The correlations between self-injury and receipt of sexual harassment were significantly associated in expected directions. The paired coverage ranged from .98 to 1.00, indicating few missing data.

The cross-lag model fit the data well, χ²(21) = 27.44, p = .16; CFI = .98; RMSEA = .04, 90% confidence interval = .00–08; SRMR = .05. Estimates from the model, reported in Table 2, indicated that self-injury and receipt of

Discussion

The two investigations included in this study provide important theoretical tests of the associations between peer sexual harassment and deliberate self-injury: Does sexual harassment predict self-injury or vice versa? Testing both questions simultaneously with data from adolescents attending public schools in Canada and Sweden, the results provide initial evidence of the directions of longitudinal associations between receipt of sexual harassment and self-injury.

Higher initial levels of

Acknowledgments

Portions of Study 1 were presented at the 2011 annual conference of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine in Seattle, WA. Study 2 data collection was supported by Grants from the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research.

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Previous studies with longitudinal examination have been limited by the use of convenience samples in some North American school settings.17,18 Furthermore, these studies did not include factors (eg, socioeconomic circumstances, prior mental health, family structure, health, and sexuality) that might be confounders of the association between sexual violence and mental health outcomes.19,20 Evidence before this study
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Original articlePeer Sexual Harassment and Deliberate Self-Injury: Longitudinal Cross-Lag Investigations in Canada and Sweden

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Sexual harassment

Deliberate self-injury

Sexual harassment, peer victimization and self-injury

Aims of this study

Overview

Plan of analysis

Study 1

Discussion

Acknowledgments

J Adolesc Health

J Psychosom Res

Child Abuse Negl

J Appl Dev Psychol

Gender and power issues of peer sexual harassment among teenagers

J Interpers Violence

The mixed company they keep: Potentially offensive sexual behaviours among adolescents

Int J Behav Dev

The culture of sexual harassment in secondary schools

Am Educ Res J

Hostile hallways: The AAUW Survey on Sexual Harassment in America's Schools

Peer to peer sexual harassment in early adolescence: A developmental perspective

Dev Psychopathol

Badgering or bantering? Gender differences in experience of, and reaction to, sexual harassment among U.S. high school students

Gend Soc

Comparing the impact of bullying and sexual harassment victimization on the mental and physical health of adolescents

Sex Roles

Psychological consequences for high school students of having been sexually harassed

Sex Roles

Peer sexual harassment and disordered eating in early adolescence

Dev Psychol

International prevalence of adolescent non-suicidal self-injury and deliberate self-harm

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

Nonsuicidal self-injury: Definition and classification

Rates of nonsuicidal self-injury in youth: Age, sex, and behavioral methods in a community sample

Pediatrics

Characteristics and functions of non-suicidal self-injury in a community sample of adolescents

Psychol Med

Prevalence and psychological correlates of occasional and repetitive deliberate self-harm in adolescents

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med

Original article
Peer Sexual Harassment and Deliberate Self-Injury: Longitudinal Cross-Lag Investigations in Canada and Sweden