A new, four-item instrument to measure workplace bullying

Res Nurs Health. 2011 Apr;34(2):132-40. doi: 10.1002/nur.20422. Epub 2011 Jan 18.

Abstract

Studies on workplace bullying either in the U.S. or internationally rarely include nurses. We tested the concurrent validity of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (22 items) with a sample of nurses. Five hundred eleven registered nurses (RNs) responded to a mailed survey. Factor, reliability, and regression analyses tested dimensionality, reliability, and construct and criterion validity. Workplace bullying is best seen as a one-dimensional construct. A subset of four items was found to be both valid and reliable in measuring bullying in this sample. Findings support the use of a one-dimensional, four-item questionnaire to measure perceived bullying in nursing populations. Using a four-item questionnaire decreases participant and researcher burden and makes available an outcome measure for future descriptive and predictive interventional research.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bullying* / psychology
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Humans
  • Massachusetts
  • Nurses / psychology*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Workplace / psychology*
  • Workplace / statistics & numerical data