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Sexual Harassment Inventory (SHI)

Sexual Harassment Inventory (SHI) is a 21-item measure of sexual harassment which factors in the severity of each behavior reported. The measure was developed and validated for a military population and contains 3 subscales: hostile environment, quid pro quo and criminal sexual harassment.

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female

Age Range: Adults

Items:

Hostile environment
1. Coworkers made sexual comments about my body.
2. My coworkers made demeaning comments to me because I am a woman/man.
3. Some of the people I worked with leered at me in a sexual way.
4. People with whom I worked made sexual jokes that made me feel uncomfortable.
5. Some of the people I worked with made catcalls or sexual remarks when I walked by.
6. I was touched by a coworker or supervisor in ways that made me feel uncomfortable.
7. My supervisor or superior officer made sexual comments about my body.
8. A coworker frequently asked me out for dates, even though I had asked him/her to stop.
9. The people I worked with put up posters of women/men in provocative poses.
10. I was given the most unpleasant, difficult assignments because I was a woman/man.

Quid Pro Quo
11. A supervisor or superior officer threatened to block my promotion unless I agreed to have sex with him/her.
12. I was offered promotions in exchange for having sex with my supervisor or commanding officer.
13. A supervisor or superior officer threatened to block a favorable transfer unless I agreed to have sex with him/her.
14. Were you ever prevented from getting a promotion, favorable assignment, or transfer because you refused to have sex with someone?
15. I was offered favorable assignments in exchange for sex with my supervisor or commanding officer.
16. A supervisor or superior officer asked me out for dates, even though I had asked him/her to stop.

Criminal Sexual Misconduct
17. I was forced by a coworker or supervisor to have sex without my consent.
18. A coworker or coworkers attempted to have sex with me without my consent.
19. My supervisor or superior officer attempted to have sex with me without my consent.
20. My coworkers or superior officer exposed themselves to me in a sexual way.

Response Options:
Yes - 1
No - 0

21. Were there other things of a sexual nature that happened to you while you were in the military? (Please list)

Scoring Procedures

Authors recommend using weights for calculating the measure scores based upon the severity of the item. Interpretation of the measure scores are suggested in the original citation. The score can also be interpreted without weighting in which a response of "yes" to any of the items means that there has been exposure to sexual harassment.

Original Citation

Murdoch, M., & McGovern, P. G. (1998). Measuring sexual harassment: Development and validation of the Sexual Harassment Inventory. Violence and Victims, 13(3), 203-216. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.13.3.203


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Formative Research

Qualitative Research

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Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

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Internal

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