Violence towards psychiatric staff: a comparison of gender, job and environmental characteristics in England and Sweden
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Date
2004
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
An International Journal of Work, Health & Organisations
Abstract
Workplace violence is receiving increasing attention world-wide, and studies suggest that, for
example, nurses and women may be more abused at work than psychiatrists and men. However, there
is a lack of cross-cultural data on the topic. Further, relatively few studies have addressed the influence
of environmental factors in the occurrence of violence and within a cross-cultural context.
The present study compares among other things the nature of violence encountered by female/
male staff (nurses and psychiatrists) in Sweden and England. Psychiatric personnel from England (301
nurses; 74 psychiatrists) and Sweden (745 nurses; 306 psychiatrists) were assessed cross-sectionally by
means of a questionnaire covering various areas (e.g. nature of violence). The univariate analyses
showed an association between being abused and male gender, young age, being British and a nurse,
physical and psychological strain. The multivariate logistic regression confirmed that British nurses
and male nurses were the main risk group for exposure to violence. Further, the multivariate analysis
indicated that the odds of being abused increased with increasing age, physical strain and dissatisfaction
with quality of care. Interventions thus need to be sensitive to gender differences, societal context,
professional roles and interactions between them. Further, clinical supervision and team functioning,
organizational and environmentally friendly settings may help to reduce violence in mental health
care.
Description
Keywords
Gender, Violence, Psychiatric nurses, Psychiatrists, Cross-cultural, Work and psychological strain
Citation
Stephen Lawoko , Joaquim J. F. Soares & Peter Nolan (2004): Violence towards psychiatric staff: a comparison of gender, job and environmental characteristics in England and Sweden, Work & Stress: An International Journal of Work, Health & Organisations, 18:1, 39-55 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02678370410001710337