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Journal of Applied Psychology Vol. 90 No. 1 2005

Profiles in Coping: Responses to Sexual Harassment Across Persons, Organizations, and Cultures.

Lilia M. Cortina1; S. Arzu Wasti2

1 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor · 2 St Petersburg University

Abstract

This study explicates the complexity of sexual harassment coping behavior among 4 diverse samples of working women: (a) working-class Hispanic Americans, (b) working-class Anglo Americans, (c) professional Turks, and (d) professional Anglo Americans. K-means cluster analysis revealed 3 common harassment coping profiles: (a) detached, (b) avoidant negotiating, and (c) support seeking. The authors then tested an integrated framework of coping profile determinants, involving social power, stressor severity, social support, and culture. Analysis of variance, chi-square, and discriminant function results identified significant determinants at each of the 4 levels of this ecological model. These findings underscore the importance of focusing on whole patterns of experience--and considering influences at the level of the individual employee and multiple levels of the surrounding context--when studying how women cope with workplace sexual harassment.

DOI
10.1037/0021-9010.90.1.182
Volume
90
Issue
1
Pages
182-192
Language
en
Sources
crossref openalex

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