People who engage in sexual harassment and abuse in school don’t necessarily look as if they would ever harm a student. Attorney Mary Jo McGrath writes, "Most of us have a mental image that people who hurt other people look odd and act differently that ordinary folk. To the contrary, frequently the perpetrator is someone we think of as a winner. Though always dangerous to generalize it is important to challenge our beliefs with some disconcerting facts."
Zalk has described several personality dimensions, or "themes," evident in teachers who sexually harass students. Each dimension is comprised of two profiles, each representing the end of a “pole.” (These are not entirely mutually exclusive dimensions, and a harasser's placement into any is a matter of judgment.)