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The Scales for Assessing Attitudes Toward Sexual Harassment Disclosure in the Workplace: A Scoping Review

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Abstract

Introduction

Sexual harassment (SH) is a common problem in the workplace, but many incidents go unreported due to various factors such as cultural norms, fear of negative consequences, and pressure from colleagues. We aimed to determine scales for assessing attitudes toward disclosure of workplace sexual harassment (WSH).

Methods

For this scoping review, we searched online databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) to identify articles that evaluated scales for attitudes toward SH disclosure. Two independent researchers performed the search, article selection, and data extraction. We used the PRISMA approach (PRISMA-ScR) for scoping review to determine scales for the attitudes toward SH disclosure in the workplace.

Results

We screened 4186 articles and identified 3 scales for inclusion in our analysis: The Sexual Harassment Reporting Attitudes Scale (SHRAS), the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) about Sexual Harassment at Workplace, and the Attitudes and Knowledge of Health Professionals Toward Sexual Assault in Adult Women (AKSSAW). Our analysis identified six factors related to attitudes toward SH disclosure, including positive and negative attitudes, fear of disclosing, fruitless effort to report SH, the consent of the harassed person, and the role of administrator.

Conclusions

The limited availability of published evidence on scales for attitudes toward SH disclosure in the workplace highlights the importance of our scoping review. Our findings provide a basis for developing a standardized scale to assess attitudes toward disclosure of SH in the workplace and offer insights for managers and policymakers to address SH in the workplace.

Policy Implications

The findings of this study provide managers with a valuable reference for accessing scales that measure attitudes toward reporting sexual harassment in the workplace. These findings can be used by managers and policymakers to develop future programs aimed at addressing sexual harassment in the workplace.

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Data Availability

The datasets used for the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Abbreviations

SH:

Sexual harassment

WSH:

Workplace sexual harassment

SHRAS:

Sexual Harassment Reporting Attitudes Scale

KAP:

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices

AKSSAW:

Attitudes and Knowledge of Health Professionals Toward Sexual Assault in Adult Women

MMAT:

Mixed Method Appraisal Tool

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychiatric Nursing, Nursing Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Samaneh Behzadi Fard

  2. Mental Health Nursing, School of Nursing, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

    Rasmieh Al-Amer

  3. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia

    Rasmieh Al-Amer

  4. Reproductive Health, Family and Population Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Mahlagha Dehghan

Authors
  1. Samaneh Behzadi Fard
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  2. Rasmieh Al-Amer
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  3. Mahlagha Dehghan
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Correspondence to Mahlagha Dehghan.

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Behzadi Fard, S., Al-Amer, R. & Dehghan, M. The Scales for Assessing Attitudes Toward Sexual Harassment Disclosure in the Workplace: A Scoping Review. Sex Res Soc Policy (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-024-00977-6

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