The impact of training and conflict avoidance on responses to sexual harassment

This study used a pretest/posttest design and included a control group to examine the impact of harassment training on intended responses to harassment. The sample consisted of 282 full-time professionals. At time 2, trainees expressed lower intentions to confront the perpetrator than did control-group participants. The simple and moderating effects of conflict avoidance on response intentions were also tested. Conflict avoidance was significantly negatively related to formally reporting gender harassment and sexual attention harassment and interacted with training to predict these outcomes. Practical implications of the results for organizations implementing harassment training programs are discussed.