Abstract
Psychological Impacts of Sexual Harassment among High School Female Students
Author(s): Shahad Saad Ali, Iman Hussein AlwanObjectives: This study aims to investigate the psychological impacts of sexual harassment among high school female students and its associated factors
Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in secondary schools for girls in Diyala Governorate during the period from November 1, 2022 to March 1, 2023. By a simple random sample consisting of (292) female students selected through the probability sampling method. The questionnaire was validated by experts and its reliability was validated by a pilot study. The total number of items included in the questionnaire was 16 items for assessing the psychological impacts. Data were collected using the self-reporting method and analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.
Results: The results indicated that the average age of the respondents was 16.9 years, (43.8%) of the participants were in the fifth grade, (78.8%) were urban residents, (45.9%) were subjected to sexual harassment once. The results showed that (51%) of the high school female students expressed high psychological impacts. There is a relationship between the psychological impacts of sexual harassment with the age of the students, the grade, the residence and the number of times of harassment (p = 0.05).
Conclusions: The study concluded that the phenomenon of sexual harassment was found as one of the main factors responsible for the deterioration of psychological and social health among female secondary school students.
Recommendations: The results obtained in this study are particularly important to shed light on the preparation of educational television programs targeting the family and urging them to raise their children properly and instill moral values in them, avoiding all forms of behavioral and moral deviations and not being exposed to others