Psychiatry Research EG

Background Despite being a common problem with many psychiatric consequences, sexual harassment is an under-researched topic. The psychiatric consequences are reported to be related to the way the victim perceives different aspects of the situation. Hence, for cognitive behavior therapy, identification of maladaptive cognitions is of prime importance. Because of the scarcity of data on this topic in our culture, the current preliminary descriptive study aimed at identifying some cognitions about sexual harassment from female victims and their male peers (including harassers), reflecting the cultural views that have an impact on the victim’s reaction and the offender’s attitude. Materials and methods A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was specially designed and distributed online and personally among Mansoura University students. A total of 390 male and 354 female students responded. Results A significantly higher percentage of female students reported the presence of the problem, the presence of physical harassment, and described it as a serious problem. Regarding the causal attribution of sexual harassment, the most commonly reported cause by male students was the provocative dress of female students, although this factor was cited as a minor factor by female students. The main factor attributed by female students was decreased religious and moral values of the harasser. The significantly predominant feeling among male students (if their sisters had been harassed) was anger. Among female students, the most frequent feelings were disgust and insecurity. Aggression was clearly evident among female students in the form of a wish to hit or kill (61%) or at least curse (10%) the harasser. According to prior records, some of these cognitions can be potentially maladaptive but this must be verified through further research correlating them with different psychopathologies. Keywords: dysfunctional thoughts, harassment, maladaptive cognitions, university students