Workplace harassment, psychological distress, and alcohol problems: A longitudinal study

Objectives Addresses the role that psychological distress (ie depression and anxiety) plays in mediating the relationship between workplace harassment (ie sexual and generalized workplace harassment) and increased alcohol problems among employed college students.Participants Two waves of data were collected from 905 study participants sampled from eight colleges and universities in the Midwestern United States.Methods A mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes’s PROCESS macro with bootstrapping.Results The findings indicated that that workplace harassment predicts increased alcohol problems, and that the association between harassment and alcohol problems is mediated by psychological distress.Conclusions Workplace harassment is a prevalent problem associated with increased alcohol problems and poor mental health for both genders in the U.S. collegiate workforce. Mental health practitioners and counselors at colleges can help students identify such issues and determine which steps a student might take to address them.