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Sexual Harassment and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Damages Beyond Prior Abuse

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Law and Human Behavior

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which harassment experiences correlate with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and whether diagnosable PTSD on the basis of sexual harassment occurs after accounting for prior PTSD, prior sexual abuse, and prior psychological dysfunction. The sample consisted of a two-wave panel of 445 women who had received a domestic violence protective order from a Kentucky court. Hierarchical linear and logistic analyses confirmed that sexual harassment experiences were significantly correlated with PTSD symptoms after controlling for an extensive set of trauma variables measured in both the baseline and follow up interviews. Our findings lend further evidence that claims of PTSD from sexual harassment may be credible even if claimants have been victims of other forms of trauma.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grant # AA12735 and the University of Kentucky General Clinical Research Organization funded by the National Institute of Health grant # M01RR02602. We thank Barbara Gutek and Ben Rodriguez for helpful comments on this manuscript and to Seth Berry for editorial assistance. We are also indebted to our research participants who took considerable time to share their lives with us.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901-6502, USA

    Margaret S. Stockdale & Rebecca Weston

  2. Department of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA

    T. K. Logan

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  1. Margaret S. Stockdale
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  2. T. K. Logan
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  3. Rebecca Weston
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Correspondence to Margaret S. Stockdale.

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Stockdale, M.S., Logan, T.K. & Weston, R. Sexual Harassment and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Damages Beyond Prior Abuse. Law Hum Behav 33, 405–418 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-008-9162-8

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