S Einarsen

Measuring exposure to bullying and harassment at work: validity, factor structure and psychometric properties of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised.

Abstract This study investigates the psychometric properties, factor structure and validity of the revised Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R), an instrument designed to measure exposure to bullying in the workplace. By reanalyzing data based on a heterogeneous sample of 5288 UK employees, the results show that the 22-item instrument has a high internal stability, with three underlying factors: personal bullying, work-related bullying and physically intimidating forms of bullying, although the instrument may also be used as a single factor measure. Criterion validity was explored by relating the scores on the NAQ-R to a single-item measure of perceived victimization from bullying, showing high correlations with both the total NAQ-R and scores on the three factors. Targets of bullying scored significantly higher on all 22 items compared to non-targets. The NAQ-R correlated as expected with measures of mental health, psychosocial work environment and leadership, indicating a good construct validity of the instrument. Furthermore, a latent class cluster (LCC) analysis showed that the instrument may be used to differentiate between groups of employees with different levels of exposure to bullying, ranging from infrequent exposure to incivility at work to severe victimization from bullying and harassment. The more commonly used operational criteria can also be used to detect targets of bullying. Hence, the NAQ-R is proposed as a standardized and valid instrument for the measurement of workplace bullying.

Workplace bullying and post-traumatic stress symptoms among family physicians in Lithuania: An occupation and region specific approach

ObjectivesThe study investigated associations between workplace bullying and post-traumatic stress symptoms as compared to and controlled for associations between the latter and other psychosocial stress factors at work and in everyday life. The study employed a representative sample of Lithuanian family physicians, hence investigated a particularly resourceful occupational group in a geographical region earlier found to have a high risk context for exposure to bullying at work.Material and MethodsWith a response rate of 89.2%, a total of 323 family physicians filled in an anonymous questionnaire on workplace bullying, post-traumatic symptomatology (IES-R), other psychosocial stressors at work and in everyday life, personal health resources (sense of coherence), behavioral characteristics and demographic variables. The statistical software SPSS 14.0, Windows was used in the analysis. Associations were tested using a multivariate logistic regression analysis.ResultsA high prevalence of bullying was found among family physicians in Lithuania, with 13% of them experiencing severe workplace bullying and 17.3% experiencing more occasional incidents of bullying. The prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms was also high with 15.8% scoring above the standardized cut-off thresholds for post-traumatic stress disorder. The odds ratio (OR) of severe bullying for post-traumatic stress after adjustment for age and gender was 8.05 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 3.80–17.04). In the fully adjusted model it increased to 13.88 (95% CI: 4.68–41.13) indicating cumulative effects of all the investigated stressors.ConclusionsWorkplace bullying is particularly prevalent among Lithuanian family physicians, as are the symptoms of post-traumatic distress. Strong associations between post-traumatic stress and exposure to severe bullying indicate that bullying is a significant source of mental health.