Papers by Kathryn Holland
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Nov 21, 2017
Theories of human aggression can inform research, policy, and practice in organizations. One such... more Theories of human aggression can inform research, policy, and practice in organizations. One such theory, victim precipitation, originated in the field of criminology. According to this perspective, some victims invite abuse through their personalities, styles of speech or dress, actions, and even their inactions. That is, they are partly at fault for the wrongdoing of others. This notion is gaining purchase in industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology as an explanation for workplace mistreatment. The first half of our article provides an overview and critique of the victim precipitation hypothesis. After tracing its history, we review the flaws of victim precipitation as catalogued by scientists and practitioners over several decades. We also consider realworld implications of victim precipitation thinking, such as the exoneration of violent criminals. Confident that I-O can do better, the second half of this article highlights alternative frameworks for researching and redressing hostile work behavior. In addition, we discuss a broad analytic paradigm-perpetrator predation-as a way to understand workplace abuse without blaming the abused. We take the position that these alternative perspectives offer stronger, more practical, and more progressive explanations for workplace mistreatment. Victim precipitation, we conclude, is an archaic ideology. Criminologists have long since abandoned it, and so should we.
Journal of Bisexuality, Apr 10, 2022
Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Dec 7, 2022
Psychology of Women Quarterly
Title IX is a primary federal legal approach to address campus sexual and gender-based misconduct... more Title IX is a primary federal legal approach to address campus sexual and gender-based misconduct, yet few students utilize Title IX reporting as a formal campus support, and those that do frequently report negative experiences. In this study, we interviewed 11 student survivors at four Maryland public universities who engaged with the Title IX reporting and response process. Our aims were to (a) examine how Title IX functions in a state public education system with a robust Title IX policy; (b) describe commonalities and differences in experiences; and (c) use theories of institutional betrayal and support to understand aspects of the process most helpful or harmful for survivors, especially minoritized survivors. Results reflected several common themes, but also an inconsistent Title IX process both within and across institutions beholden to the same Title IX policy, representing potential policy deviations. Further, institutional betrayal was reflected in the experiences of minor...
Oxford University Press eBooks, Feb 23, 2023
Violence Against Women
Twenty-five survivors completed anonymous surveys about reporting sexual and gender-based miscond... more Twenty-five survivors completed anonymous surveys about reporting sexual and gender-based misconduct to their public university's Title IX office, including case characteristics, perceptions of the reporting and response process (e.g., helpfulness, respect), and experiences of institutional betrayal and support. Measures and open-ended responses described varied misconduct incidents, reporting behaviors, case outcomes, process issues, and negative process consequences. Additionally, process perceptions correlated with institutional betrayal and support. Findings illuminate how survivors’ Title IX process perceptions relate to experiencing harm or support from larger institutions, and offer insights into developing a Title IX process which maintains student rights and dignity regardless of outcome.
Journal of Applied Communication Research
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been shown to improve health and social well-be... more Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been shown to improve health and social well-being by including diverse, marginalized community voices within academic-community partnerships. Although CBPR has gained in popularity, an explicit examination and evaluation of communication processes and outcomes throughout an entire CBPR project is lacking. Here, we analyze interviews with 10 stakeholders (i.e. 4 academic and 6 community partners) about their experiences in a three-phase, mixed-methods project exploring Hispanic and Somali community members' perceptions of healthcare needs and access in a rural U.S. community. Results reflect that CBPR endeavors include communication challenges, successes, and ongoing tensions not simply between the academic group and community partners but also within these groups. We encourage academic-community research partners to devote considerable efforts to strengthening effective communication between and within multiple identity groups throughout an entire CBPR project (including evaluation) as they work to create, complete, and sustain project goals and outcomes.
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2020
Computers in Human Behavior
Women frequently send sexualized nude images to men (i.e., nudes), but women's motivations for se... more Women frequently send sexualized nude images to men (i.e., nudes), but women's motivations for sending nudes are unclear because there are methodological limitations in the ways that cyber sexual activity has been defined and measured. To address these gaps in the literature, we employed a mixed method triangulation design to assess young women's motivations for sending nudes to men, and how motivations compare when measured qualitatively and quantitatively. Across our qualitative and quantitative data, we found that women endorsed a plethora of motivations for sending nudes to men-far more than any one approach captured. The open-ended responses revealed positive sexual motives otherwise missing from the quantitative scales, which tended to overrepresent negative motivations. We also identified several critical discrepancies between endorsement of similar motivations in the qualitative versus quantitative responses, especially when it came to the idea of sending nudes for fun. Based on these findings, we suggest future researchers consider using more specific, and less stigmatizing language when assessing women's motivations for sending nudes.
Violence Against Women
Queer women are at high risk of college sexual victimization, but they face barriers to formal su... more Queer women are at high risk of college sexual victimization, but they face barriers to formal support services. As a result, informal support is critical. This study uses data from 40 open-ended interviews to explore family members’ reactions to queer women's disclosures and examine whether their family is a reliable source of informal support. Findings indicate that family reactions are often more harmful than helpful. In comparison to research focused on heterosexual survivors, we find family reactions to be more extreme and disparaging of queer survivors’ sexual identities. In fact, family members’ negative reactions may pose barriers to accessing formal services.
Feminist Criminology
Sexual harassment of graduate students is prevalent, yet little is known about their experiences ... more Sexual harassment of graduate students is prevalent, yet little is known about their experiences reporting sexual harassment to their university. We conducted interviews with 32 graduate students who reported sexual harassment to Title IX to understand how survivors’ experiences of harassment align with report outcomes. Nearly all participants experienced severe, education-limiting consequences of the harassment and reported to ensure safety and restore educational access. Most reports were deemed unactionable and findings of responsibility were rare, demonstrating a disconnect between survivors’ experiences and Title IX outcomes. Our analysis suggests that Title IX practitioners rely on notions of “severity” rather than harassment consequences.
Women & Therapy, 2021
Abstract Experiencing college sexual assault is detrimental for students’ mental health. Counseli... more Abstract Experiencing college sexual assault is detrimental for students’ mental health. Counseling options exist in every type of college/university, but many survivors do not use these resources and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) survivors may have additional unmet mental healthcare needs. Using 40 qualitative interviews, we examined LGBTQ and (cis)straight survivors’ actual and anticipated interactions with counseling in a counseling center and women’s center. More survivors used the counseling center than the women’s center. Students anticipated and experienced positive treatment from both centers, but believed the women’s center would have more experience working with survivors. Ciswomen (straight and queer) and survivors with marginalized gender identities (e.g., trans, genderqueer) were most likely to anticipate and experience negative treatment. However, the women’s center may be less accessible for cismen and gender minorities, as there were concerns that this resource may only be for cisgender women.
Body Image, 2020
Internalizing stigma toward the body can have negative implications for women's sexual health. In... more Internalizing stigma toward the body can have negative implications for women's sexual health. In the current study, we examined how young women's internalized stigma toward their body shape, genitals, and menstrual periods are associated with their use of preventative healthcare services for sexual health. Additionally, we tested two mechanisms that may mediate the relationship between internalized body stigma and preventative care: self-objectification (in the form of a loss of autonomy) and comfort communicating with a healthcare provider. We collected and analyzed survey data from 685 undergraduate women. We tested a serial mediation model, such that the internalization of body stigma predicted greater self-objectification, greater self-objectification predicted less comfort communicating with a provider, and discomfort communicating with a provider predicted lower receipt of preventative care. Results partially supported the proposed serial mediation model, such that internalizing stigma towards body shape, genitals, and menstrual periods was associated with discomfort communicating via greater self-objectification. Internalized stigma toward genitals and menstrual periods were significant predictors of preventative care use, even when accounting for self-objectification and communication. Findings suggest that interventions to address genital and menstrual stigma could be especially beneficial for enabling young women to seek preventative care.
Psychology of Violence, 2019
Workplace violence is underreported, in part due to lack of trust in the system-an organization's... more Workplace violence is underreported, in part due to lack of trust in the system-an organization's ability to protect victims' safety, confidentiality, and dignity. We focus on military sexual assault-a form of workplace violence-aiming to (a) identify factors that relate to employee trust in the organization's sexual assault response system and (b) determine how trust in this system (or lack thereof) is associated with well-being. Method: Participants were drawn from a representative sample of U.S. military personnel (542 victims of past-year sexual assault and a random sample of 1,000 individuals who did not experience sexual assault in the past year). Results: Trust differed by personal and organizational characteristics. Notably, trust was higher among men (vs. women), nonvictims (vs. past-year victims of sexual assault), members of the air force (vs. other service branches), and personnel who recalled comprehensive training related to sexual assault prevention and response (vs. minimal or no training). Further, lower trust in the system predicted lower work satisfaction and coworker satisfaction, more negative health perceptions, more greater symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress, and lower intent to remain on active duty. These negative outcomes emerged beyond the effects of past-year sexual assault and combat. Conclusions: Trust that an organization will protect employees' safety, confidentiality, and dignity if they report violence is important to both mental and occupational health, for both victims and nonvictims alike. In short, workplace violence can be devastating and so can (non)responsiveness to violence by the larger institution.
Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
Abstract Latinx immigrants experience substantial disparities in mental health treatment access, ... more Abstract Latinx immigrants experience substantial disparities in mental health treatment access, particularly for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The availability of brief, flexible interventions in Spanish may assist in reducing these disparities. Written Exposure Therapy (WET) is a five-session PTSD intervention that appears as effective as longer, gold-standard interventions, but has yet to be tested among Latinx immigrants. To test the acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of WET, 20 Spanish-speaking, Latinx immigrants conducted structured interviews at pretreatment, were offered WET, and completed posttreatment structured interviews. Open thematic coding of pre- and posttreatment interview questions examined perceived barriers and benefits of WET. Quantitative components examined symptom change across PTSD (PCL-IV-C) and depression (PHQ-9). Quantitative results indicated clinically meaningful and statistically significant change in PTSD symptoms using intent-to-treat analyses (Mdiff = 17.06, SDdiff = 9.97, range = 0–29, t(15) = 6.84, p
Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 2020
The U.S. Department of Education (DoE) released new Title IX regulations in May 2020, including t... more The U.S. Department of Education (DoE) released new Title IX regulations in May 2020, including the requirement that postsecondary institutions conduct live hearings with direct cross‐examination for sexual misconduct reports. The 2,033‐page document included a summary of public comments and the DoE's discussion of those comments. We analyzed this publicly available document to answer two questions. (1) What are the primary concerns of the cross‐examination requirement for victims within the Department's summary of public comments? (2) How did the Department respond to these victim concerns? We conducted a content analysis, with a specific focus on the DoE's summary of survivor‐focused comments regarding cross‐examination and the DoE's discussion of and changes made in response to those comments. We identified four overarching survivor‐focused concerns and four categories of DoE responses. Our findings suggest that the DoE did not meaningfully address survivor‐focused concerns, but instead, selectively wielded "due process" as a shield to deflect critiques and legitimize the myth that sexual misconduct allegations inherently lack "credibility." The lack of protections for victims is a significant departure from legal norms in other settings. Our findings identify the importance of legislators working with survivor‐activists, practitioners, and researchers to ensure complainants receive adequate procedural protections.
Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 2022
Supplemental Material, sj-pptx-1-pwq-10.1177_0361684321994295 for Young Women's Body Attitude... more Supplemental Material, sj-pptx-1-pwq-10.1177_0361684321994295 for Young Women's Body Attitudes and Sexual Satisfaction: Examining Dehumanization and Communication as Serial Multiple Mediators by Kathryn J. Holland, Kristin E. Silver, Allison E. Cipriano and Rebecca L. Brock in Psychology of Women Quarterly
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021
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Papers by Kathryn Holland