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

• Authors: Vilija Malinauskiene , Staale Einarsen

Abstracts

EN

Objectives: The 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 Methods: With 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. Results: A 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. Conclusions: Workplace 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.

Keywords

EN

physicians; sense of coherence; bullying; post‑traumatic stress; occupational; psychosocial

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 919-932

Dates

published

2014

Contributors

author

Vilija Malinauskiene

• Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Laboratory of Population Studies, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
• Department of Health, Social and Physical Education, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania

author

Staale Einarsen

• Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/s13382-014-0328-y

Biblioteka Nauki

2178911