Stop Sexual Harassment: A study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial in secondary schools in Norway

Hilde Slaatten; Bente Storm Mowatt Haugland; Ragnhild Bjørknes; Tonje Fyhn; Torill Helene Tveito; V Paul Poteat; Kyrre Breivik

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.1051983

Stop Sexual Harassment: A study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial in secondary schools in Norway

Front Public Health. 2023 Jan 9:10:1051983. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1051983. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Hilde Slaatten¹, Bente Storm Mowatt Haugland², Ragnhild Bjørknes^{1

3}, Tonje Fyhn⁴, Torill Helene Tveito⁵, V Paul Poteat⁶, Kyrre Breivik¹

Affiliations

¹ Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, Norway.
² Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
³ Norwegian Centre for Child Behavioral Development, Oslo, Norway.
⁴ Worklife and Inclusion, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, Norway.
⁵ Department of Health, Social and Welfare Studies, University of South-Eastern Norway, Horten, Norway.
⁶ Department of Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Boston College, Newton, MA, United States.

Abstract

Background: Sexual- and gendered harassment are normalised in many peer groups, yet their associations with mental health concerns among adolescents are well-established. School based interventions that prevent and reduce sexual and gendered harassment among younger adolescents are scarce. For schools, protecting pupils from harassment may be challenging if the behaviour is trivialised among the pupils themselves. In the current study, the school intervention "Stop Sexual Harassment" was therefore developed to help teachers and pupils detect, address and stop sexual and gendered harassment among pupils ages 13-15 in Norwegian secondary schools.

Methods: In this study the effectiveness of "Stop Sexual Harassment" is evaluated via a cluster randomised controlled trial among pupils and teachers at 38 secondary schools. Schools were randomised into intervention and control groups. Primary outcomes are sexual and gendered harassment victimisation and perpetration, which will be assessed by the administration of questionnaires to pupils and teachers at baseline, and 2-, and 7-months follow-up. A process evaluation of the intervention implementation will be conducted through focus group interviews with pupils and teachers to gain insight about their experiences with the program components and implementation of the intervention.

Discussion: If the intervention yields positive effects, large-scale implementation of the program may be offered for secondary schools. The program may thus reduce sexual and gendered harassment among young adolescents.

Clinical trial registration: clinicaltrial.gov; identifier: NCT04716400.

Keywords: RCT; Stop Sexual Harassment; gendered harassment; homophobic harassment; intervention; prevention; sexual harassment; youth.

Publication types

Clinical Trial Protocol
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Humans
Norway
Peer Group
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Schools
Sexual Harassment* / prevention & control

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT04716400

Grants and funding

The project was mainly financed through a post doc scholarship to the primary investigator by Dam Foundation through the Norwegian Council for Mental Health. For contact information to Dam Foundation, please see: https://dam.no/kontakt/. The study is carried out independently from the sponsor, and neither the sponsor nor the primary investigator has any financial gains from the study.