Susan Fineran, PhD, ACSW, LICSW

Associate Professor

Dr. Susan Fineran is an associate professor at the University of Southern Maine School of Social Work and Women and Gender Studies. Her professional career includes clinical experience in the areas of aging, substance abuse, child and family treatment, sex discrimination and women’s issues.   Her research interests include peer sexual harassment and bullying in schools and the mental health implications for children and adolescents. Dr. Fineran joined the University of Southern Maine School of Social Work in 2002 after teaching on the social work faculties of Boston University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her education includes an MSW (1981) from the Catholic University of America, and a Ph.D. (1996) from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Over the past decade, Dr. Fineran has published extensively in her research area concerning sexual harassment and adolescent development. Her most recent work includes: Comparing the Impact of Bullying and Sexual Harassment Victimization on the Mental and Physical Health of Adolescents, an article published in the July 2008 edition of the journal Sex Roles (Gruber, J.E , & Fineran, S.), and three book chapters;Bullying and Sexual Harassment of Adolescents. In M. Paludi (Eds.) Feminism and Women's Rights Worldwide, CT: Praeger Publishers (in press), Sexual harassment and mental health. In M. Paludi (Ed.), (2008) The psychology of women at work: Challenges and solutions for our female workforce, and Bullying, and sexual harassment in schools: Pathways to assessment. In R. Constable, C.R. Massat, S. McDonald, & J.P. Flynn (Eds.), (2008), School social work: Practice, policy, and research (7th Edition). She also contributed to the Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence by J. Edleson & C. Renzetti (Eds)., a description and definition of “Same-sex sexual harassment”(Fineran, S. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 2008).

 

Other recent publications include, The Impact of bullying and sexual harassment on health outcomes of middle school and high school girls (Gruber, J.E , & Fineran, S.) and Risk factors for peer sexual harassment in schools (Fineran, S., & Bolen, R.M.). Her work has been cited in an E-Zine AlterNet story posted October 24, 2006, for an article entitled, “Workplace Harassment Now a Teen Rite of Passage.” written by Debra Katz and Justine F. Andronici of Ms. Magazine. In addition, Dr. Fineran’s research was also cited in the June 2007 issue of Good Housekeeping in an article by E.J. Graff, “Is your daughter safe at work?” and in the May 2008 issue of Family Circle, “Labor Daze: The best jobs for your teen” by Laura Flynn McCarthy. The Washington Post cited her study in a 2004 article “Lawsuits Shed New Light on Sexual Harassment of Teens.” All four articles referenced Dr. Fineran’s studies on sexual harassment issues among teenage female working students. Most recently her research in this area, Youth at work: Adolescent Employment and Sexual Harassment has been accepted for publication (August 2009) in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect,  (Fineran, S., & Gruber, J.E.).

In January 2009, her research Are Health and School Outcomes Different for Bullying and Sexual Harassment? A Comparison of Middle and High School Students, was presented in New Orleans at The Society for Social Work Research.  In August 2009, she presented her research on Disability, Bullying, and Sexual Harassment: The Impact on Health and School Outcomes for Adolescents, at the Society for the Study of Social Problems annual meeting in San Francisco, CA. In addition she will be presenting her most recent research conducted with the Maine Department of Labor, Health and Work Outcomes of Sexual Harassment Among Employed Adolescents at the 8th International Conference on Occupational Health and Stress, November 2009, in Puerto Rico.

Publications:

Fineran, S., & Gruber, J.E. (2009). Sexual harassment and teens at work
Child Abuse & Neglect, 33, (8), 550-559

Gruber, J.E , & Fineran, S. (2008). Comparing the Impact of Bullying and
Sexual Harassment Victimization on the Mental and Physical Health of Adolescents
Sex Roles, 58, (13-14)

Gruber, J.E., & Fineran, S. (2007).The impact of bullying and sexual harassment on middle school and high school girls. Violence Against Women,13, (2), 627-643. 

Fineran, S., & Bolen, R.M. (2006). Risk factors for peer sexual harassment in schools. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1169-1190.

Fineran, S., Bennett, L. & Sacco, T. (2003). Peer sexual harassment and peer violence among adolescents in Johannesburg and Chicago. International Social Work Journal. 46, (3), 391-405.

Fineran, S., Bolen, R.M., Urban-Keary, M. & Zimmerman, L. (2003). Sharing common ground: Learning about oppression through an experiential game. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 6, (4), 1-19.

Fineran, S. (2002). Adolescents at work: Gender issues and sexual harassment. Violence Against Women, 8, (8), 953-967.

Fineran, S. (2002). Sexual harassment between same-sex peers: The intersection of mental health, homophobia, and sexual violence in schools. Social Work. 47, (1), 65-74.
 
Fineran, S., Bennett, L. & Sacco, T. (2001) Peer sexual harassment and peer violence: South African children at risk. Maatskaplike Werk / Social Work.37, (3), 211-221.
 
Fineran, S. (2001). Sexual minority students and peer sexual harassment in high school. Journal of School Social Work. 11, (2), 50-69. 

Gilfus, M., Fineran S., Cohan, D.J., Jensen, S.A., Hartwick, L. & Spath, R. (1999). Research on violence against women: Creating survivor informed collaborations. Violence Against Women, 5 (10), 1194-1212.

Fineran, S. & Bennett, L. (1999). Gender and power issues of peer sexual harassment among teenagers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14 (6), 626-641.

Fineran, S. & Bennett, L. (1998). Teen peer sexual harassment: Implications for social work practice in education. Social Work, 43 (1), 55-64.

Bennett, L. & Fineran, S. (1998). Sexual and severe physical violence among high school students: Power beliefs, gender and relationship. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67 (4), 645-652.

 

Book Chapters

Gruber, J.E., & Fineran, S., (in press). Bullying and Sexual Harrassment of Adolescents, In Paludi (Ed.) Feminism and Women's Rights Worldwide, CT: Praeger Publishers.       

Fineran, S., & Gruber, J.E. (2008). Sexual harassment and mental health. In M. Paludi (Ed.) The psychology of women at work: Challenges and solutions for our female workforce.Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group

Fineran, S. (2008). Same-sex sexual harassment. In J. Edleson & C. Renzetti (Eds). Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Fineran, S., McDonald, S., & Constable, R. (2008).  Bullying, and sexual harassment in schools: Pathways to assessment. In R. Constable, C.R. Massat, S. McDonald, & J.P. Flynn (Eds.), School social work: Practice, policy, and research (7th Edition). Chicago: Lyceum.

McDonald, S., Fineran, S., Constable, R., & Moriarty, A. (2005).  Creating safe and responsive schools: Bullying and peer sexual harassment.  In R. Constable, C.R. Massat, S. McDonald, & J.P. Flynn (Eds.), School social work: Practice, policy, and research (6th Edition). Chicago: Lyceum.

Research Grants

Youth at Work: Adolescent Employment and Sexual Harassment.
           USM Faculty Senate Research Grants.(Awarded March 2009, $3000)
            Principal Investigator  

Campus Interpersonal Violence Safety Program
            Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women, (Awarded: March 2009, $300,000)
            Principal Investigator. 
           
Research Grant Development 
           CAS Research and Creative Activity Fund (Awarded June 2004, $794.00)

Peer Sexual Harassment Outcomes on Children's Mental and Physical Health
            USM Faculty Senate Research Grants. (Awarded March 2003, $2300.00)
            Principal Investigator. 

Adolescent Employment: Mental Health Risks From Sexual Harassment. 
            Proposal Development Research Assistance Fund.
            (Awarded September 2003, $1200.00)
            Principal Investigator.