Initial Test of a Model of Men’s Sexual Harassment Perpetration: Examining Indirect Effects of Social Dominance Orientation through Social Norms and Gender Role Discrepancy Stress

Abstract

ABSTRACT Prior research is limited in the study of correspondence between online and in-person forms of sexual harassment (SH) among adult men as well as correlates of these behaviors. The present study assesses whether social dominance orientation (SDO; i.e., the tendency to reject equality and support hierarchy-legitimizing myths and behaviors) might be associated with increases in SH perpetration both online and in-person, perhaps through increases in perceived social support for SH and masculine gender role discrepancy stress. Among a sample of U.S. adult men (N = 167), results indicated that there were indirect effects of SDO on both in-person and online SH through increases in perceived social norms but not through masculine gender role discrepancy stress. A competing model, in which SDO mediates these associations, was not supported. Results support the use of social norms approaches to target perceived social norms, if these results are replicated within temporal designs.