Prevalence and relevant factors of the academic harassment experienced by graduate students

The purpose of this study was to explore (1) the prevalence of Academic Harassment (AH) from professors experienced by graduate students, and (2) how relevant factors link to AH. Specifically, we examined the relations of AH to 3 external factors: "vice-adviser system", "easiness towards other teachers (EOT)", and "support of laboratory members (SLM)". We also examined the relationships between AH and 2 internal factors: optimism and "expectation for teaching quality (ETQ)". We conducted a questionnaire survey on 1,700 graduate students, and the response rate was rate was 29.4%. Data from 506 students was analyzed. The main results were as follows. (1) 18% of graduate students experienced AH from professors. (2) Students who experienced AH, had a low score for EOT, SLM, and optimism. They also demonstrated a high score for ETQ.