Nurses’ Experience of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace and Traumatic Stress as Factors Attributing Professional Identity: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: Although workplace sexual harassment is known to affect nurses’ psychological well-being, research on its
relationship with professional identity is limited.

Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study designed to examine sexual harassment experienced by nurses, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and their association with professional identity. Study data were obtained
between April 25 and 30, 2019. The study was conducted with 115 nurses working in different hospitals who had
experienced sexual harassment in their workplaces in the past year. The sample was recruited from an online nursing community in South Korea. Participants were asked about the type of sexual harassment, its frequency, and the
perpetrators. PTSD symptoms and professional identity were measured using the Impact Event Scale-Revised and the
modified version of Snizek-revised Hall’s professional inventory.

Results: Physical sexual harassment (294 reported cases) was the most frequently reported type of sexual harassment
among nurses. Patients were the majority of the perpetrators in almost all types of sexual harassment. In the logistic
regression analysis, a more frequent experience of sexual harassment (P < .05) had a statistically significant effect on
attenuated professional identity. Higher levels of PTSD due to sexual harassment were independently associated with
strengthened professional identity (P < .05)

Conclusion: Nurses’ frequent experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace are an occupational health risk that
affects their professional identity. However, high levels of PTSD were significantly related to a strengthened professional
identity among nurses with experiences of sexual harassment. It would be helpful to use the strategies to promote
posttraumatic growth in caring sexually harassed nurses to reinforce their professional identity.

Cite this article as: Lee E, Suh M. Nurses’ experience of sexual harassment at the workplace and traumatic stress as factors attributing professional identity: A crosssectional study. Arch Health Sci Res. 2025; 12, 0066, doi: 10.5152/ArcHealthSciRes.2024.24066.