Access Type

Open Access Dissertation

Date of Award

January 2016

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Alyssa K. McGonagle

Abstract

Workplace violence is defined as aggressive acts against employees ranging from verbal abuse, threats, and bullying, to physical assault (OSHA, 2002; Jackson, Clare, & Mannix, 2002). The two purposes of this study were (1) to differentiate two specific forms of psychological climate related to workplace violence on a work unit: Violence Prevention Climate (VPC) and Management Safety Climate (MSC), and (2) to test a causal model focusing on the relationship between these climates and their effects on relevant outcomes for at-risk employees in the healthcare industry. MSC was expected to partially mediate the effects of VPC on four outcomes: work satisfaction, work-related exhaustion, workplace violence exposure, and the perception that workplace violence is a problem for the individual. Two samples were used to compare the differences between these relationships in two scenarios: within a single hospital system after identifying work units at increased risk for workplace violence, and within a multitude of U.S. healthcare organizations. Using structural equation modeling, results revealed slight variations in the final model structure between the two samples. The majority of hypotheses were supported, and implications for practice and research are discussed.

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