Sexual Harassment and Self-Esteem in Female University Students of Hidalgo

Abstract

Sexual harassment is a worldwide problem that influences on self-esteem and causes various emotions such as anger, sadness, fear, helplessness, and/or stress in women. For this reason, the objective of this research is focused on identifying the relationship between sexual harassment and self-esteem in female university students in the State of Hidalgo, Mexico. The design is non-experimental, with a correlational and cross-sectional type of study, (N = 120) female psychology undergraduate students, with an age range of 18 to 24 years old (X̅ = 20. 29, S.D. = 1.56) were selected by means of a non-probabilistic sample, to which a battery of instruments was applied, including: Coopersmith´s Adult Self-Esteem Inventory, Garcia´s Sexual Harassment Scale and a Questionnaire (ex profeso designed) of sociodemographic. The results show a significant negative mean relationship between the Physical Approaches factor of the Sexual Harassment Scale and the Level of Total Self-Esteem. It should be noted that, physical sexual harassment is significantly related to self-esteem, which demonstrates the need to take measures to prevent and reduce this problem.