24.10.2024
Doctoral thesis on peer aggression and sexual harassment among adolescents in Turkey and Finland
M.Soc.Sc. Isla Varpula’s doctoral thesis in Developmental Psychology will be put forth for public defence at the Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies at Åbo Akademi University.
The thesis is entitled Peer Aggression and Sexual Harassment among Adolescents in Turkey and Finland; Perceived Ethnic Discrimination and School Connectedness in Relation to Immigrant Status.
The public defence of the doctoral thesis takes place on 31 October 2024 at 12PM. You can follow the defence online. Docent Joam Evans Pim, Center for Global Nonkilling, Hawaii, USA, will serve as opponent and Docent Karin Österman, Åbo Akademi University, as custos.
Summary
The present thesis had a dual purpose. First, it aimed to delve into the prevalence of various forms of peer aggression (physical, verbal, indirect, and cyber) and sexual harassment (physical and verbal) among two distinct groups of young adolescents (aged 9–15) in Turkey and Finland. The investigation encompassed not only the perpetration of aggression but also the experiences of victimisation. The study evaluated sex-based differences in both perpetration and victimisation, along with distinctions between the two samples. Similarly, sexual harassment has been extensively studied in workplaces among adult female groups but not adequately explored among adolescents.
Second, the thesis aimed to investigate perceived ethnic discrimination among Finnish secondary school students from three distinct family backgrounds: (1) native Finns, (2) immigrants, and (3) adolescents with a multicultural background, i.e., having one parent who is a native Finn and the other an immigrant. Notably, adolescents with a multicultural family background have been underrepresented in previous research. The study also investigated school connectedness concerning ethnic discrimination, which represents another gap in the existing literature.
Overall, this thesis highlights the importance of cultural underpinnings in aggression and sexual harassment, suggesting that these underpinnings may also manifest in perceived discrimination and school connectedness. Additionally, it draws attention to multicultural adolescents as an underrepresented group, offering valuable insights into their experiences with discrimination and connectedness.
Isla Varpula (b. Ulubas) can be reached by phone +358 46 840 8661 or email isikulubas@gmail.com.
The doctoral thesis can be read online through the Doria publication archive.
Click here for a press photo of the doctoral student.
Instructions for following the doctoral defence remotely:
To follow the defence, you need the Zoom software or the Google Chrome browser. You do not need to create a Zoom account to follow the defence. If you install the application, you participate by clicking on the meeting link, after which you should allow the link to open in the Zoom app.