Situational and dispositional determinants of workplace victimization

Abstract

Using a representative sample of 635 professional journalists working in two southern European countries, the study assesses the independent effects of routine activities, negative affectivity, and low self-control on the likelihood of physical and property victimization in the workplace. The results extend previous research by showing that the likelihood of victimization at work is determined not only by the situational characteristics of the task performed but also by the dispositional characteristics of the person in the occupational role. Specifically, negative affectivity and the situational tenets of routine activity theory were consistently related to the likelihood of both physical and property victimization at work. Low self-control, however, failed to significantly predict the likelihood of victimization among professional journalists.