Attachment and personality predicts engagement in sexual harassment by male and female college students
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine a trait model of personality (Five-Factor Model) as a mediator of the relationship between attachment styles and sexually harassing behavior in a sample of male (N = 148) and female (N = 278) college students. We found that gender (male) and low Agreeableness predicted engaging in sexual harassment and all three of its subtypes; gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion. Further, low Conscientiousness predicted overall sexual harassment, gender harassment, and unwanted sexual attention. Personality traits mediated the relationship between insecure attachment styles (Preoccupation with Relationships and Relationships as Secondary) and sexually harassing behaviors. Thus, factors beyond gender can help predict students' propensity to sexually harass others.
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Several studies supported a correlation between attachment anxiety and sexual IPV perpetration, with coefficients ranging from 0.32 to 0.16, indicating a weak correlation.
“Concerning the dimension of anxiety, several studies supported the correlation with sexual IPV (Smallbone and Dadds, 2001; Ménard et al., 2010; He and Tsang, 2014; Sommer et al., 2017). The coefficients presented ranged from 0.32 to 0.16, that indicate a weak correlation.”
From Exploring Relationships: A Systematic Review on Intimate Partner Violence and Attachment (2018) · cites this paper as Ménard et al., 2010
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- Authors
- Ménard, K. S., Shoss, N. E., & Pincus, A. L.
- Affiliations
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Venue
- Violence and Victims
- Publisher
- Springer Publishing Company
- Published
- 2010-12
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 770-786
- ISSN
- 0886-6708 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-7073
- OpenAlex
- W2002458257
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 0.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Violence and Victims (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Workplace Violence and Bullying
- Keywords
- sexual harassment, attachment styles, personality traits, Big Five personality traits, agreeableness, conscientiousness, gender-based harassment, unwanted sexual attention, sexual coercion, university students, gender differences, insecure attachment, mediation
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aggression, Coercion, Dominance-Subordination, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Personality, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sex Factors, Sexual Partners, Social Perception, Students, United States, Universities, Crime Victims, Young Adult
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