Relationship between Sexual Harassment Prevention Knowledge, Self-esteem and Assertiveness among Adolescent Girls: A Cross-sectional Study in Mangaluru, Karnataka, India

Introduction: Adolescent girls face a heightened vulnerability to sexual harassment, underscoring the critical importance of their understanding and application of prevention strategies for their safety and overall well-being. Aim: To investigate the relationship between knowledge of sexual harassment prevention strategies, self-esteem, and assertiveness among adolescent girls. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. Data were collected from 142 adolescent girls in the 8th and 9th standards. The parameters studied were knowledge of sexual harassment prevention strategies, self-esteem, and assertiveness. Data collection tools included a structured knowledge questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27 was used for statistical analysis, and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The study primarily included adolescent girls with a mean age of 13.54±0.59 years. The majority of participants (70.42%) demonstrated good knowledge of sexual harassment prevention. However, a significant proportion exhibited low selfesteem (59.15%) and were situationally non assertive (64.79%). Correlation analysis revealed no statistically significant linear relationships between knowledge and self-esteem (r=-0.061, p=0.469), knowledge and assertiveness (r=0.084, p=0.320), or self-esteem and assertiveness (r=0.148, p=0.079). Conclusion: Despite possessing knowledge of sexual harassment prevention, adolescent girls in this study did not necessarily demonstrate higher levels of self-esteem or assertiveness. This suggests that comprehensive interventions should focus on enhancing self-esteem and assertiveness skills alongside knowledge dissemination to empower young women and create safer environments.