Sexual harassment cascading into other forms of sexual aggression? A six-year longitudinal study from childhood to adolescence.

This project proposal presents a unique opportunity to examine key issues relating to the pathways of sexually aggressive behaviors during the important developmental transition between late childhood and mid-adolescence.

As a free-standing extension of a currently ongoing longitudinal project (DNR 2018-00667), the present project will continue to follow the 1006 middle school child participants into and over the course of high school (grade 7-9).

The purpose of the proposed project is (I) to explore the developmental pathways of sexual harassment across the transition from middle school to high school, and (II) to answer important questions about the developmental cascades (i.e. spill-over effects) stemming from sexual harassment in late childhood to other forms of sexual aggression emerging in adolescence.

Demographic variables, experiences of sexual harassment and other age-relevant forms of sexual aggression in adolescents’ relational contexts, as well as measures of psychosocial adjustment and well-being will be assessed through online questionnaires in grades 7, 8 and 9.

The sample is large enough to allow for stratified- or subgroup analyses over time, and advanced statistical methods suitable for analyzing longitudinal data will be used.

The proposed project will shed new light on the developmental pathways of both victims and perpetrators, and the interconnections and temporal precedence between various forms of sexually aggressive behaviors emerging throughout key transitional periods.

This knowledge can inform the design of preventative interventions aiming to disrupt destructive cascading effects of sexual aggression at a time when norms and behavior are more susceptible to change.

Thus, the proposed project is tied to a long-term goal of trying to mitigate sexually aggressive behaviors among young people, and ultimately, the adverse societal and individual consequences following in its footsteps.