Test of the cross-cultural generalizability of a model of sexual harassment

Sexual harassment research has been primarily limited to examination of the phenomena in U.S. organizations; attempts to explore the,generalizability of constructs and theoretical models across cultures are rare. This study e xamined (a) the measurement equivalence of survey scales in U.S. and Turkis h samples using mean and covariance structure analysis and (6) the generali zability of the L. F. Fitzgerald, F. Drasgow, C. L. Hulin, M. J. Gelfand, a nd V. J. Magley (1997) model of sexual harassment to the Turkish context us ing structural equations modeling. Analyses used questionnaire data from 33 6 Turkish women and 455 women from the United States. The results indicate that, in general, the survey scales demonstrate measurement equivalence and the pattern of relationships in the Fitzgerald et al. model generalizes to the Turkish culture. These results support the usefulness of the model for explaining sexual harassment experiences in a variety of organizational an d cultural contexts.