Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:19:50.129Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spanish Adaptation of the Illinois Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2014

Francisca Expósito ,
Antonio Herrera ,
Inmaculada Valor-Segura ,
M. Carmen Herrera  and
Luis M. Lozano
Francisca Expósito*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Antonio Herrera
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Inmaculada Valor-Segura
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
M. Carmen Herrera
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Luis M. Lozano
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Francisca Expósito Jiménez. Departamento de Psicología Social. Facultad de Psicología. Centro de Investigación Mente, Cerebro y Comportamiento (CIMCYC), Universidad de Granada, Campus de Cartuja, s/n. 18071. Granada (Spain). Phone: 34–958246277. Fax: 34–958243746. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Sexual harassment is among the most serious forms of gender violence, and what all violent acts have in common are the many myths associated with them. Three studies were conducted to adapt a Spanish version of the Illinois Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance (ISHMA) scale, which assesses myths about sexual harassment. The first study aimed to, for the first time, present psychometric data on the Spanish version of the ISHMA. The participants were 339 college students. After adapting the items and measuring their content validity, we examined the test’s dimensional structure, statistically analyzed the items, and determined the instrument’s reliability (α = .91 for the total scale and between .77 and .84 for the different dimensions). Study 2 involved 326 adult participants from the general population and its objective was to evaluate the scale’s dimensional structure through confirmatory factor analysis (χ2 143 = 244.860, p < .001; GFI = .952; CFI = .958; RMSEA = .034 [.026 – .041]). The third study was conducted in order to measure convergent validity in both students and adults from the general population. Differences by gender were found in all dimensions being the females’ means higher than males (Cohen´s d between .38 and .62). Our findings suggest the Spanish version of the ISHMA is a useful instrument to study myths about sexual harassment.

Keywords

sexual harassmentmythsgender violencescaleadaptation
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 17 , 2014 , E40
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akaike, H. (1987). Factor analysis and AIC. Psychometrika, 52, 317–332. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2FBF02294359 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alemany, M. C. (1998). Spanish study: Sexual harassment at work in five southern European countries. In the European Commission report. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in the European Union, 155–228.Google Scholar
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education (1999). Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington DC: American Educational Research Association.Google Scholar
Balluerka, N., Gorostiaga, A., Alonso-Arbiol, I., & Aranburu, M. (2007). La adaptación de instrumentos de medida de unas culturas a otras: Una perspectiva práctica. [Adaptation of measurement instruments from one culture to another: A practical perspective]. Psicothema, 19, 124–133.Google Scholar
Bartling, C. A., & Eisenman, R. (1993). Sexual harassment proclivities in men and women. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 31, 189–192. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF03337321 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beauvais, K. (1986). Workshops to combat sexual harassment: A case study of changing attitudes. Signs, 12, 130–145. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/494301 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berdahl, J. L. (2007). The sexual harassment of uppity women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 425–437. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.425 Google Scholar
Cowan, G. (2000). Women’s hostility toward women and rape and sexual harassment myths. Violence Against Women, 6, 238–246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10778010022181822 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunningham, G. B. & Benavides-Espinoza, C. (2008). A trend analysis of sexual harassment claims: 1992–2006. Psychological Reports, 130, 779–782. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/PR0.103.7.779-782 Google Scholar
Ebel, R. L. (1965). Measuring educational achievements. New Jersey, NJ: Prentince-Hall, Englewood Cliffs.Google Scholar
Expósito, F., & Moya, M. (2005). Violencia de género [Gender violence]. In Expósito, F. & Moya, M. (Eds.), Aplicando la psicología social [Applying social psychology] (pp. 201–227). Madrid. Spain: Pirámide.Google Scholar
Expósito, F., Moya, M. C., & Glick, P. (1998). Sexismo ambivalente: Medición y correlatos [Ambivalent sexism: Measurement and correlates]. Revista de Psicología Social, 13, 159–169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1174/021347498760350641 Google Scholar
Ferrer, V. A., Bosch, E., Ramis, M. C., Torres, G., & Navarro, C. (2006). La violencia contra las mujeres en la pareja: Creencias y actitudes en estudiantes universitarios/as. [Domestic violence against women: University students’ beliefs and attitudes]. Psicothema, 18, 359–366.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, L. F. (1994). Sexual harassment: The last great open secret. In Koss, M. P., Goodman, L. A., Browne, A., Fitzgerald, L. F., Keita, G. P., & Russo, N. F. (Eds.), No safe haven: Male violence against women at home, at work, and in the community (pp. 111–131). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, L. F. (1996). Sexual harassment: The definition and measurement of a construct. In Paludi, M. (Ed.), Sexual harassment on college campuses: Abusing the ivory power (pp. 25–48). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Gerger, H., Kley, H., Bohner, G., & Siebler, F. (2007). The acceptance of modern myths about sexual aggression scale: Development and validation in German and English. Aggressive Behavior, 33, 422–440. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.20195 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491–512. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037%2F%2F0022-3514.70.3.491 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hambleton, R. K. (2005). Issues, designs and technical guidelines for adapting tests into multiple languages and cultures. In Hambleton, R. K., Merenda, P. F., & Spielberger, S. D. (Eds.), Adapting educational and psychological tests for cross-cultural assessment (pp. 3–38). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Herrera, M. C., & Expósito, F. (2009). Responsabilidad compartida: Influencia de los medios de comunicación en la atribución de culpabilidad y justificación de la violencia de género [Shared responsibility: The media’s influence on attributions of blame and justification of gender violence]. Anuario de Psicología Jurídica, 19, 103–110.Google Scholar
Ilies, R., Hauserman, N., Schwochau, S., & Stibal, J. (2003). Reported incidence rates of work-related sexual harassment in the United States: Using meta-analysis to explain reported rate disparities. Personnel Psychology, 56, 607–631. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2003.tb00752.x Google Scholar
Instituto de la Mujer (2009). Violencia sexual y tráfico de seres humanos [Sexual violence and human trafficking] . Madrid, Spain: Author. Retrieved from http://www.inmujer.es/estadisticas/consulta.do?metodo=buscar Google Scholar
Jörekog, K. G. (1999). How large can standardized coefficients be?. Chicago: Scientific Software International. http://www.ssicentral.com/lisrel/techdocs/HowLargeCanaStandardizedCoefficientbe.pdf Google Scholar
Koss, M. P., Goodman, L. A., Browne, A., Fitzgerald, L. F., Keita, G. P., & Russo, N. F. (1994). No safe haven: Male violence against women at home, at work, and in the community. Washington DC: American Psychological Association. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037%2F10156-000 Google Scholar
Leidig, M. K. W. (1981). Violence against women: A feminist psychological analysis. In Cox, S. (Ed.), Female psychology (2 nd Ed.). New York, NY: St. Martin’s.Google Scholar
Lonsway, K. A., Cortina, L. M., & Magley, V. J. (2008). Sexual harassment mythology: Definition, conceptualization, and measurement. Sex Roles, 58, 599–615. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9367-1 Google Scholar
Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1994). Rape myths. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 133–164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1994.tb00448.x Google Scholar
MacKinnon, C. A. (1979). Sexual harassment of working women. New Haven, MA: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Manzano, V. (1998). Selección de muestras [Sample selection]. In Rojas, A. J., Fernández Prados, J. S, & Pérez, C. (Eds.), Investigar mediante encuestas [Survey research] (pp. 51–97). Madrid, Spain: Síntesis.Google Scholar
Mazer, D. B., & Percival, E. F. (1989). Ideology or experience? The relationships among perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of sexual harassment in university students. Sex Roles, 20, 135–147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00287987 Google Scholar
Megías, J. L., Romero-Sánchez, M., Durán, M., Moya, M., & Bohner, G. (2011). Spanish validation of the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression Scale (AMMSA). The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 14, 912–925. http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/rev_SJOP.2011.v14.n2.37 Google Scholar
Ministerio de Igualdad (2010). Acoso sexual y acoso por razón de sexo en el ámbito laboral [Sexual and gender-motivated harassment in the workplace]. In Implantación de planes de igualdad en organizaciones laborales. Materiales divulgativos [Workplace implementation of plans for equality. Awareness-raising materials] . Madrid, Spain: Author. Retrieved from http://www.igualdadenlaempresa.es/enlaces/webgrafia/docs/acoso-sexual-y-acoso-por-razon-de-sexo-en-el-ambito-laboral-2010.pdf Google Scholar
Moya, M., & Expósito, F. (2001). Nuevas formas, viejos intereses: Neosexismo en varones españoles [New forms, old bias: Neosexism in Spanish men]. Psicothema, 13, 643–649.Google Scholar
Moya, M., Expósito, F., & Padilla, J. L. (2006). Revisión de las propiedades psicométricas de las versiones larga y reducida de la Escala sobre Ideología de Género [Review of the psychometric properties of the long and short-form versions of the Gender Ideology Scale]. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 6, 709–727.Google Scholar
Payne, D. L., Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1999). Rape myth acceptance: Exploration of its structure and its measurement using the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. Journal of Research in Personality, 33, 27–68.Google Scholar
Pina, A., Gannon, T. A., & Saunders, B. (2009). An overview of the literature on sexual harassment: Perpetrator, theory, and treatment issues. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 126–138. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2009.01.002 Google Scholar
Quinn, B. A. (2002). Sexual harassment and masculinity: The power and meaning of “girl watching.” Gender & Society, 16, 386–402. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0891243202016003007 Google Scholar
Raykov, T., & Marcoulides, G. A. (2000). A first course in structural equation modeling. New Jersey, NJ: LEA.Google Scholar
Reilly, M. E., Lott, B., & Gallogly, S. M. (1986). Sexual harassment of university students. Sex Roles, 15, 333–358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00287976 Google Scholar
Sakallı-Uğurlu, N., Salman, S., & Turgut, S. (2010). Predictors of Turkish women’s and men’s attitudes toward sexual harassment: Ambivalent sexism, and ambivalence toward men. Sex Roles, 63, 871–881. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9847-6 Google Scholar
Spaan, M. (2006). Test and item specifications development. Language Assessment Quarterly, 3, 71–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15434311laq0301_5 Google Scholar
Stockdale, M. S., Logan, T. K., & Weston, R. (2009). Sexual harassment and posttraumatic stress disorder: Damages beyond prior abuse. Law and Human Behavior, 33, 405–418. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10979-008-9162-8 Google Scholar
Temkin, J., & Krahé, B. (2008). Sexual assault and the justice gap: A question of attitude. Oxford, UK: Hart.Google Scholar
Topa, G., Morales, J. F., & Depolo, M. (2008). Perceived sexual harassment at work: Meta analysis and structural model of antecedents and consequences. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 11, 207–218.Google Scholar
Tougas, F., Brown, R., Beaton, A. M., & Joly, S. (1995). Neosexism: Plus ça change, plus c’est pareil [Neo-sexism: The more things change, the more they stay the same]. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 842–849. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167295218007 Google Scholar
Valor-Segura, I., Expósito, F., & Moya, M. (2008). Atribución del comportamiento del agresor y consejo a la víctima en un caso de violencia doméstica [Attribution of aggressor's behavior, and advice to the victim in a case of domestic violence]. Revista de Psicología Social, 23, 171–180. http://dx.doi.org/10.1174/021347408784135896 Google Scholar
Wade, J. C., & Brittan-Powell, C. (2001). Men’s attitudes toward race and gender equity: The importance of masculinity ideology, gender-related traits, and reference group identity dependence. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 2, 42–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//1524-9220.2.1.42 Google Scholar
Walker, W. D., Rowe, R. C., & Quinsey, V. L. (1993). Authoritarianism and sexual aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1036–1045. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.65.5.1036 Google Scholar
Wiener, R. L., Reiter-Palmon, R., Winter, R. J., Richter, E., Humke, A., & Maeder, E. (2010). Complainant behavioral tone, ambivalent sexism, and perceptions of sexual harassment. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 16, 56–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018434 Google Scholar