Sexual Harassment, Depressive Symptoms and Resilience Among Young People Living in Disadvantaged Urban Areas of Latin America: A Cohort Study

Objective To explore how experiences of sexual harassment influence the progression of depressive symptoms over one year in young people, and whether resilience moderates this association. Method Participants were young people aged 15–16 and 20–24 from deprived neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires, Bogotá, and Lima. Sexual harassment was assessed at baseline (yes/no), capturing experiences within the past year and more than a year ago. Depressive symptoms (PHQ-8) were measured at baseline and one-year follow-up. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression tested associations between harassment and symptom change. Resilience (CD-RISC-10), measured at baseline, was explored as a potential effect modifier. Results Among 1260 participants, those reporting sexual harassment showed higher depressive symptoms over time ( β = 1.02; p < .001). Resilience moderated this association ( χ ² = 316.13; p < .001). Predicted margins indicated that participants with high resilience showed a greater reduction in depression symptom scores (−3.35 points without harassment; −2.79 points with harassment) compared with those with low resilience (−2.48 and 2.65, respectively). However, mean scores in all groups remained above the clinical threshold. Conclusion Resilience alone cannot protect young people from the emotional impact of sexual harassment. Addressing this issue requires institutional commitment and structural policy reforms.