title: Prospective relationships between workplace sexual harassment and psychological distress.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Exposure to workplace sexual harassment (SH) has been associated with impaired mental health, but longitudinal studies confirming the relationship are lacking.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine gender differences in prospective associations between SH and psychological distress.
  
  
  METHODS
  Baseline questionnaire survey data were collected in 2005 in a representative sample of Norwegian employees. Follow-up data were collected in 2007. SH was measured with the Bergen Sexual Harassment Scale. Psychological distress was measured with the 25 item Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25) with cases of psychological distress defined as having a mean score of <1.75. Variables were measured at both baseline and follow-up. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Response rates were 57% in 2005 and 75% in 2007 when the final cohort comprised 1775 respondents. After adjusting for baseline distress and age, exposure to SH at baseline was associated with psychological distress at follow-up among women [odds ratio (OR): 2.03; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-3.39] but not men (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 0.72-2.43). Baseline distress was significantly related to SH at follow-up among men (OR: 3.03; 95% CI: 1.74-5.26) but not women (OR: 1.15; 95% CI: 0.69-1.92).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study found that SH contributed to subsequent psychological distress among women. Workplace measures against SH would be expected to lead to a reduction in mental disorders. The finding that psychological distress predicts SH among men may indicate either a vulnerability factor or a negative perception mechanism.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Health, PO Box 8149 Dep, NO-0033 Oslo, Norway. morten.nielsen@stami.no
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Einarsen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D017406:Sexual Harassment / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult