The role of emotions in women's strategies for coping with sexual harassment

This thesis examines the role of appraisals and emotions in sexual harassment. Five types of strategies that are linked with the experience of sexual harassment are examined. These are advocacy seeking, negotiation, social coping, avoidance and denial. The link between appraisals, emotions and coping strategies is examined across eight studies (1047 participants in total). Studies 1 and 2 examined the potential role of emotions in behavioural responses to sexual harassment, establishing coping strategies as a fitting measurement of behaviour. Studies 3 and 4 examined the role of power in the relationship between specific emotions and particular coping strategies as a response to sexual harassment. In Studies 5 and 6 the role of appraisals and the effect of perpetrator type on the relationship between emotions and coping in sexual harassment was examined. Study 7 investigated the effect of organisational support on the relationship between emotions and coping of women presented with a harassing situation perpetrated by a man in a superior position at work. Study 8 investigated the relationship between appraisals, emotions and coping in the real-life experiences of victims of sexual harassment. The combined results of this thesis support the argument that different appraisals of the experience result in different emotional experiences. The results also indicated that emotions and appraisals are related but distinct predictors of victims’ responses toward sexual harassment. The thesis concludes with a summary of the findings, a discussion of the methodological limitations of the studies and suggestions for future research.