Help-Seeking Patterns Among Students Experiencing Sexual Harassment: A Latent Class Analysis

Abstract

Sexual harassment continues to be a pervasive problem in institutes of higher education. Despite this, there are significant gaps in research and our understanding related to students’ help-seeking associated with sexual harassment. Understanding students’ help-seeking patterns is critical in improving and streamlining campus-wide resources. The following study uses a latent class analysis to examine whether unique patterns of help-seeking exist among students experiencing sexual harassment and whether there are meaningful differences between help-seeking groups with respect to incident characteristics, campus climate, and demographic profiles. Data used in this analysis are from an anonymous, web-based campus climate survey across a university system that included 7,318 undergraduate and 3,484 graduate students. Of these, 704 undergraduates and 229 graduate students reported experiencing sexual harassment. Our results indicated four help-seeking groups: Comprehensive help-seeking group (engaged in multiple types of formal and informal help-seeking), Informal help-seeking group (relied exclusively on friends as sources of support), Low help-seeking group (individuals in this group told virtually no one about their experience, including friends or family), and Unsure group (reached out to friends in large numbers but universally characterized themselves as not knowing what to do). Across classes, findings highlight significant differences related to incident characteristics (offender identity and incident location), student status, and racial identity. Our results point to the heterogeneity of patterns and responses in help-seeking for students experiencing sexual harassment. Variations in help-seeking across different classes highlight that students’ perceptions and preferences for formal and informal support depend on their specific type. Our study is a reminder that survivors access support through diverse ways; understanding these distinct patterns in help-seeking behaviors based on specific subgroups will help universities tailor programs that better align with students’ contextual needs and realities.