1-051 - Alternative Perspectives on Harassment: Exploring Perceptions of Classroom, Sexual, and Street Harassment

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

For many children, harassment is a frequent experience (Bentley et al., 2016). Consequently, understanding and tackling harassment is of international importance (UNICEF, 2016). Although previous research has documented the types of harassment children and adolescents experience, harassment can take many forms requiring researchers to take a broad perspective using a range of methods (Juvonen & Graham, 2001). Together, these four papers adopt such an approach and focus on classroom based, sexual, and street harassment.

Using random graph modelling, paper one explores children’s experiences of classroom based harassment within a social network framework. The results reveal variation in children’s experience of classroom based harassment according to peer-networks. Paper two explores adolescents’ perceptions of sexual harassment. Narrative analysis revealed four themes: (a) naiveté regarding what constitutes sexual harassment, (b) confusion regarding consent, (c) the prevalence of mixed signals between peers, and (d) harsh assessment of girls deemed promiscuous. Using a hypothetical dilemma, paper three’s findings provide insight into adolescents’ perceptions of the victim, transgressor, and bystander in an episode of sexual harassment. Although nearly all participants regarded the dilemma as problematic, the data suggest that adolescents differ in their analysis of social situations that may include harassment. Paper four considers adolescents’ experiences of street harassment. Four distinct profiles of street harassment emerged which were characterized by different levels of negative emotions following the event. Collectively the papers emphasise the importance of examining harassment from multi-dimensional perspective using a range of methods.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Lucy Betts, Nottingham Trent University

Individual Presentations

• Class-Based Peer-Harassment Experiences in Children’s Friendship Networks - Presenting Author: Sarah Gardner, Nottingham Trent University; Lucy Betts, Nottingham Trent University; James Stiller, Nottingham Trent University; Janine Coates, Nottingham Trent University

• (Mis)conceptions Regarding Sexual Harassment among African American Adolescents - Presenting Author: Josephine Grant Lindsley, Georgia State University; Faith Zabek, Georgia State University; Johari Harris, Georgia State University; Ann Cale Kruger, Georgia State University; Kate Agel, Georgia State University; Catherine Perkins, Georgia State University; Joel Meyers, Georgia State University

• Adolescents’ Perceptions of Transgressor, Victim, and Bystander: Thinking Through a Sexual Harassment Dilemma - Presenting Author: Ann Cale Kruger, Georgia State University; Faith Zabek, Georgia State University; Johari Harris, Georgia State University; Kate Agel, Georgia State University; Josephine Grant Lindsley, Georgia State University; Catherine Perkins, Georgia State University; Joel Meyers, Georgia State University

• Exploring Adolescents’ Reports of Street Harassment: Determining Commonalities in Experiences and Negative Emotions - Presenting Author: Lucy Betts, Nottingham Trent University; Rachel Harding, Nottingham Trent University; Sheine Peart, Nottingham Trent University; Catarina Sjolin knight, Nottingham Trent University; David Wright, Nottingham Trent University; Kendall Newbold, Nottingham Trent University