Poster #219 - Confront, Get Help, or Ignore: Witnesses of Gender-Based Harassment in Early Adolescence

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Previous research has shown that early adolescents who are perceived as atypical for their gender (i.e., do not conform to gender stereotypes) often face high rates of victimization from their peers (Jewell & Brown, 2014; Russell, Kosciw, Horn, & Saewyc, 2010; Smith & Juvonen, 2017). The majority of this gender-based harassment (GBH) occurs in the presence of others, yet bystanders rarely intervene (AAUW 2001; Buston & Hart, 2001). Intervention by bystanders could help reduce the perpetration of GBH and change the social norms that are tolerant of GBH, yet little research has examined why some individuals choose to intervene and some do not. To address this gap in research, the current study focuses on how early adolescents’ own gender identity (specifically, the degree to which the bystander feels either gender typical or atypical) and their emotional reactions to witnessing GBH (e.g., sad, guilty, angry) predict which individuals are likely to either confront or ignore GBH. It is predicted that gender moderates these relationships.
The participants in this study were 274 seventh and eighth grade students, ages 11-15 (M = 12.68 years, SD = .67 years), at a public middle school. There were 155 girls and 119 boys. Ethnically, 60.1% of the sample self-reported being White, 17.9% Black, 5.9% Latino, 1.8% Asian American, and 14.3% as other or biracial. Students completed survey packets during school hours while supervised by research assistants. Packets included demographics, measures of gender identity (same and other-gender typicality, felt pressure to conform, and gender contentedness; Egan & Perry, 2001; Martin, Andrews, England, Zosuls, & Ruble, 2017), and questions about witnessing gender-based teasing, bullying, and rejection (e.g., behavioral responses and emotional reactions). Only early adolescents who had previously witnessed GBH were included in the analyses.
Results indicated that experiencing negative internalized emotions (e.g., sad, guilty) after witnessing GBH positively predicted getting help from adults afterwards for both boys (B = .67, t(108) = 2.25, p = .03) and girls (B = .60, t(141) = 2.91, p < .01). Experiencing negative externalized emotions (e.g., angry) positively predicted confronting the perpetrators of GBH for both boys (B = .57, t(107) = 3.32, p < .01) and girls (B = .42, t(142) = 3.19, p < .01). Additionally, boys who felt high pressure to conform to gender norms were more likely to ignore GBH (B = .35, t(109) = 4.33, p < .001). Interestingly, girls who were high in other-gender typicality (i.e., who felt similar to boys) were also more likely to ignore GBH (B = .26, t(142) = 2.00, p = .05). Thus, the current study suggests that internal-focused emotions following witnessing GBH are related to seeking others’ help, whereas external-focused emotions are related to confronting the perpetrator. Further, both boys and girls who conform more to masculine norms (either because of social pressures or gender identity) are more likely to choose to ignore GBH than boys and girls who identify less strongly with boys and masculine norms.

Authors

• Michelle Jennine Tam, University of Kentucky
  Presenting Author

• Christia Spears Brown, University of Kentucky
  Non-Presenting Author