One-year incidence of sexual harassment and the contribution to poor mental health in the adult general population.
Journal
European journal of public health
ISSN: 1464-360X
Titre abrégé: Eur J Public Health
Pays: England
ID NLM: 9204966
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
01 06 2022
01 06 2022
Historique:
pubmed:
30
1
2022
medline:
7
6
2022
entrez:
29
1
2022
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Sexual harassment (SH) has been highlighted as an important determinant for mental health. The aims of this study were to describe SH in terms of cumulative 1-year incidence, exposed groups, types of perpetrators and settings, and to measure the association between SH and poor mental well-being. Data from two waves of the Scania Public Health Cohort Study, comprising 7759 randomly recruited individuals above 18 years. Exposure to SH was measured by an instrument that also recorded place of exposure and type of perpetrator. Poor mental well-being was assessed by General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-12, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36) (mental health module) and self-reported use of prescribed psychotropic medication. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analyses. The cumulative 1-year incidence of SH was six times greater among women, the highest figure (17.5%) was noted for women 18-34 years of age. No difference was noted regarding educational level or country of origin. Public places, including public transportation, and unknown offenders were the most frequently reported setting of SH for both genders. Exposure to SH was associated with a doubled risk for low mental well-being, according to all three outcome definitions, and after adjustment for mental health 6 years earlier. Female gender was related to greater vulnerability to SH exposure concerning GHQ-12 and SF-36. The Population Attributable Fraction for poor mental health was calculated to 13% for women 34 years and younger. The results of this study make SH an important issue for gender policy as well as for public health policy and intervention.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
Sexual harassment (SH) has been highlighted as an important determinant for mental health. The aims of this study were to describe SH in terms of cumulative 1-year incidence, exposed groups, types of perpetrators and settings, and to measure the association between SH and poor mental well-being.
METHODS
Data from two waves of the Scania Public Health Cohort Study, comprising 7759 randomly recruited individuals above 18 years. Exposure to SH was measured by an instrument that also recorded place of exposure and type of perpetrator. Poor mental well-being was assessed by General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-12, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36) (mental health module) and self-reported use of prescribed psychotropic medication. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analyses.
RESULTS
The cumulative 1-year incidence of SH was six times greater among women, the highest figure (17.5%) was noted for women 18-34 years of age. No difference was noted regarding educational level or country of origin. Public places, including public transportation, and unknown offenders were the most frequently reported setting of SH for both genders. Exposure to SH was associated with a doubled risk for low mental well-being, according to all three outcome definitions, and after adjustment for mental health 6 years earlier. Female gender was related to greater vulnerability to SH exposure concerning GHQ-12 and SF-36. The Population Attributable Fraction for poor mental health was calculated to 13% for women 34 years and younger.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study make SH an important issue for gender policy as well as for public health policy and intervention.
Identifiants
pubmed: 35092279
pii: 6517172
doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckab225
pmc: PMC9159336
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
360-365Informations de copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.
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