Abstract
Psychological harassment is a serious occupational risk for nurses, but little is known about its related factors and possible predictors. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether nursing students’ neuroticism trait and coping styles can predict psychological harassment at work when they later become nurses. A non-experimental, longitudinal, three-wave prospective study with a time lag of 6 years was carried out, following nursing students from three Spanish universities until they joined the health labor market. The age range of the sample was 20–48 years, and the mean age was 26.99 ± 5.72; the majority of the sample were women (88.5%). Predictor variables were neuroticism and coping styles (emotional and behavioral coping). The criterion variable was psychological harassment. To examine the model fit between the predictor and criterion variables, we conducted structural equation modelling. Results confirmed a high correlation between neuroticism and psychological harassment. In addition, a direct effect of neuroticism on psychological harassment was found; however, emotional and behavioral coping styles did not show a good fit. Proactive interventions to improve emotional self-control are needed in order to prevent negative effects of psychological harassment at work on nurses.
Highlights
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has shown that workplace violence, which can include verbal and physical abuse, is strongly associated with work-related stress and poor mental health [1].Leymann defined this type of violence as mobbing, consisting of long-lasting, systematic psychological harassment from superiors, co-workers, or subordinates in order to victimize, humiliate, or threaten someone in the work setting [2]
Less is known about the possible predictors, such as the stress involved in the transition from the student role to the nursing role [5] or the relationship between personality and bullying [6]
Descriptive analysis showed that neuroticism scores remained stable over time, and the use of emotional coping was predominant in all the assessments
Summary
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has shown that workplace violence (bullying, mobbing, psychological harassment), which can include verbal and physical abuse, is strongly associated with work-related stress and poor mental health [1]. Leymann defined this type of violence as mobbing, consisting of long-lasting, systematic psychological harassment from superiors, co-workers, or subordinates in order to victimize, humiliate, or threaten someone in the work setting [2]. Studies show that nurses they usually suffer from
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