MOBBING OF NURSES: PREVALENCE, FORMS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES IN THE MORAVIAN-SILESIAN REGION

Objectives. The main aims of the study were to assess the prevalence of mobbing in nurses in the Moravian-Silesian Region, to identify the most common forms of mobbing, and determine how mobbing affects the mental health of employees. Sample and setting. The sample was comprised of 456 Czech nurses from eight different hospitals in the Moravian-Silesian Region in the east of the Czech Republic. Hypotheses. It was hypothesized that mobbing would be influenced by age, education, length of service, and position. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that mobbing would be associated with the presence of sadness, depression, and anxiety. Statistical analysis. The Kruskal-Wallis test for multiple independent groups, the Mann-Whitney U test for two independent groups, Spearman's correlation analysis, and Multiple linear regression (to determine the relative independent contribution of independent variables to dependent variables) were performed. Methods. The two instruments used were the Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ), and the Subjective Feelings and States (SUPSO) Questionnaire - a questionnaire for assessing the structure and dynamics of subjective experiences and states. Results. A total of 14.3% of the respondents had been subjected to mobbing in the previous six months. There were no statistically significant correlations between being subjected to mobbing and education, age, or length of service. Regarding the psychological consequences of mobbing, there were statistically significant associations between mobbing and sadness (r = 0.411), depression (r = 0.355), and anxiety (r = 0.327). Study limitation. Non-random selection of the sample.