Sexual Harassment in Adolescent

Abstract

1 Psychological Magister Program, Faculty of Psychology, Tarumanagara University, Jakarta 11440, Indonesia *Corresponding author. Email: kezia.717181014@stu.untar.ac.id ** Corresponding co-author. Email: naomis@fpsi.untar.ac.id, widyar@fpsi.untar.ac.id ABSTRACT Adolescence is a transitional period from childhood to adulthood which is marked by changes in physical, cognitive, and psychosocial aspects. At this stage of development, adolescents often experience psychological problems such as eating disorders, anxiety, or even depression, and so forth. Various psychological problems can occur due to internal factors and external factors. One external factor that causes psychological problems in adolescents is sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is a sexual act through physical or non-physical touch targeting sexual organs or sexuality. Sexual harassment can be experienced by adolescents and cause anxiety and decrease grades in school. The aims of this study to determine the description of sexual harassment experienced by adolescents in one of the state high schools in the South Tangerang area. The study was conducted by distributing a questionnaire and interviews with 10-12 high school students. Questionnaires were given to adolescents aged 13-19 years (N = 178). Based on 178 students, 123 students (69%) had experienced sexual harassment. The results showed that 66 students (54%) experienced verbal sexual harassment; 106 students (86%) experienced non-verbal sexual harassment; there were 56 students (46%) who experienced physical sexual harassment. Interviews were conducted on 3 students who had experienced sexual harassment, namely 2 women and 1 man. Interviews showed that victims of sexual harassment experienced low self-esteem, skipping school, fear of meeting the opposite sex, and experienced physical reactions such as nausea, palpitations, and dizziness. The results of this study are preliminary studies of research that are useful for the development of psychological science in the future.