Workplace aggression has been associated with a number of detrimental employee and organizational outcomes, both at work and away from work. This dissertation includes three studies that expand our knowledge of the implications of workplace aggression in the work and nonwork domains. Further, this research illuminates the processes through which this relationship occurs by utilizing various sources of data from employees in a variety of contexts including universities, long term health care, and the USDA Forest Service. In Study 1, which was published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, multi-source data are utilized to identify the indirect effects of coworker-reported workplace aggression on self and significant-other reported work-family conflict via self-reported psychological detachment from work. Study 2 identifies an indirect effect of workplace aggression on parental warmth via increased perceived stress utilizing longitudinal data from the Work, Family, and Health Network. Finally, Study 3 utilizes data from the USDA Forest Service to examine associations between workplace aggression and safety outcomes. Workplace aggression was found to be associated with increased resource depletion (i.e., rumination, cognitive failure) and decreased workplace safety (i.e., increased workplace accidents, decreased safety compliance). Workplace aggression was indirectly associated with safety participation and workplace injuries via cognitive failure and rumination, respectively. Safety climate, an organizational resource, moderated the relationship between rumination and safety behaviors. Finally, the indirect effect of coworker aggression on safety compliance via rumination was found to be conditional on low levels of safety climate, while the indirect effect of supervisor aggression on safety participation via rumination was also found to be conditional on low levels of safety climate. The current body of work provides implications for developing workplace interventions to reduce negative outcomes of workplace aggression, such as general stress management and recovery from work interventions. Several avenues for future research are suggested as well, including examining objective health outcomes of workplace aggression, utilizing longitudinal designs, and identifying additional moderators of the association between workplace aggression and employee outcomes.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Juger est un processus particulièrement ardu. Malgré le cadre légal, le cerveau humain est soumis à de nombreuses influences. Il recueille, consciemment ou non, des informations de provenances variées lorsqu’il est face à une situation. De nombreux travaux ont mis en évidence des influences externes aux faits, comme la beauté du prévenu, l’aspect horrible des preuves ou les caractéristiques physiques des noirs par rapport aux blancs, qui influenceraient les jurys populaires aux Etats-Unis. En revanche, peu de travaux se sont intéressés aux émotions du prévenu et à l’influence qu’elles pourraient avoir sur les juges. Dans cette optique, deux chercheurs de l’Université libre de Bruxelles, Christophe Leys et Laurent Licata, ont étudié l’influence de la perception de la culpabilité, en tant qu’émotion, sur le jugement pénal. Ils ont accepté de résumer pour Justice-en-ligne le fruit de leurs recherches. Le sentiment de culpabilité est essentiel dans le cadre d’un jugement parce qu’il induit celui qui la ressent à réparer son tort, que ce soit symboliquement, par des excuses, ou concrètement par des actes, comme le remboursement des dommages occasionnés. Une première étude a montré qu’un prévenu, pris en flagrant délit, se sentant coupable sera moins sévèrement condamné que s’il ne se sent pas coupable, car il est perçu comme plus sociable, que son délit a tendance à être attribué à des circonstances externes, et qu’il semble moins susceptible de récidiver. Dans une seconde approche nous avons voulu savoir si l’influence des sentiments de culpabilité et de colère était la même en fonction de l’origine ethnique du prévenu, belge ou maghrébine. Lorsque l’on teste la présence ou l’absence de culpabilité et de colère, on obtient quatre comportements possibles du prévenu, qui peut : se sentir coupable et ne pas être en colère ; se sentir coupable et être en colère ; ne pas se sentir coupable ni être en colère ; ne pas se sentir coupable et être en colère. Le premier et le dernier comportement sont attendus : la culpabilité va de pair avec une absence de colère et inversement. Par contre, la présence conjointe de culpabilité et de colère, ou l’absence de culpabilité et de colère sont des comportements surprenants. Dans le cas d’un prévenu belge, les comportements attendus conduisent à une sanction sévère, alors que les comportements surprenants conduisent à une peine plus modérée. Paradoxalement, exprimer de la culpabilité et pas de colère n’est donc pas une stratégie payante pour le prévenu car elle revient à reconnaître les faits sans évoquer de circonstances atténuantes. En revanche, un prévenu qui se sent coupable mais qui est en colère contre la société induit l’idée qu’il a compris sa transgression, mais que des circonstances atténuantes l’excusent partiellement. Dans le cas d’un prévenu maghrébin, la situation diffère légèrement. Les Maghrébins souffrent de deux stéréotypes culturels (c’est-à-dire des croyances répandues dans la société à propos de leur groupe) négatifs à propos de ces émotions : ils sont perçus comme se mettant facilement en colère et comme se sentant rarement coupables. Il semble que les participants soient influencés, consciemment ou non, par ces stéréotypes. La condition cohérente, qui joint l’absence de culpabilité à la présence de colère conduit, comme pour le prévenu belge, à une peine sévère. Rien d’illogique : si un prévenu ne se sent pas coupable et de plus se rebelle, il ne doit pas s’attendre à de la clémence. Par contre, les deux conditions inattendues qui mènent à une peine moins sévère au prévenu belge n’ont pas cet effet chez le prévenu maghrébin. Tout se passe comme si, dès qu’il agit en accord avec ne fût-ce qu’un des stéréotypes négatifs de son groupe, il est puni sévèrement. Dès lors, s’il ressent de la colère ou qu’il ne se sent pas coupable, la peine est sévère. Par contre, lorsqu’il contredit ces stéréotypes, qu’il se sent coupable et n’est pas en colère, il est moins sévèrement puni. De toutes les conditions, Belges et Maghrébins confondus, c’est la situation qui conduit à la peine la plus basse. Il semble que, pour les prévenus maghrébins, les participants ne se soient pas tant centrés sur l’attribution de facteurs externes que sur une autre dimension, non pertinente chez un prévenu belge : le niveau d’intégration à la culture belge. Un maghrébin qui se sent coupable et n’est pas en colère est perçu comme bien intégré à la culture belge et moins condamné. Peut-on parler de discrimination ? Dans l’état actuel des recherches, il n’est pas question de discrimination, mais bien de raisonnements différents. Pour pouvoir invoquer la discrimination, il faudrait mettre en évidence plusieurs éléments : d’une part, ces études concernent essentiellement un échantillon de personnes qui ne sont pas magistrats, bien qu’une partie de l’échantillon était formée au droit. Même si aucune différence n’a été observée entre cet échantillon et le reste des participants, formés à d’autres disciplines que le droit, il se peut que les magistrats aient développé, par l’expérience, des stratégies de contrôle de ces effets. D’autre part, la peine dépend avant tout du comportement émotionnel ; dès lors, si l’on imagine une situation dans laquelle tous les prévenus réagissent sans se sentir coupables et en étant en colère, la peine sera uniformément sévère quelle que soit l’origine. Par contre, si tous les prévenus réagissaient en se sentant coupables et en n’étant pas en colère, nos études sugèrent que ce sont les prévenus belges qui seraient discriminés. Les prévenus maghrébins seraient également discriminés si, par exemple, tous les prévenus réagissaient de manière inattendue. Mais nous n’avons que peu d’informations sur ces comportements lors des procès. Quelques données supplémentaires Outre les expériences, quelques observations de terrain ont soulevé des points qui peuvent alimenter le débat. Trois approches ont été réalisées : l’observation de procès, l’entretien avec des ex-détenus et l’entretien avec des magistrats. Les deux premières visaient avant tout à investiguer la gestion des émotions en fonction de l’origine culturelle. Les prévenus d’origine maghrébine ont-ils tendance à se sentir plus ou moins coupables que les prévenus d’origine belge ? Existe-t-il des différences culturelles quant aux normes relatives à la présentation d’excuses lorsque l’on a commis un délit ? Tous les prévenus ont-ils les moyens d’observer des rituels d’excuses complexes ? L’observation de nombreux procès révèle une corrélation très forte entre les aptitudes linguistiques perçues du prévenu et sa tendance à présenter des excuses. Plus un prévenu éprouve des difficultés à s’exprimer en français, moins les stratégies d’excuses seront utilisées. A l’inverse, les Belges semblent s’excuser plus souvent, presque systématiquement même, dès lors qu’ils ne nient pas les faits. Les ex-détenus, indépendamment de leur origine, ne se sentent a priori jamais coupables des délits qui leur ont été reprochés. Par contre, certains disent avoir présenté des excuses au tribunal. La culpabilité, lorsqu’elle était ressentie, concernait plutôt les conséquences du délit, comme les difficultés financières auxquelles étaient confrontées les familles des détenus, la violence imprévue durant les faits, ou encore, pour un cas, le délit lui-même (vente de stupéfiant) mais justifié par le fait que l’ex-détenu était toxicomane lors des faits. Il en ressort que, dans la plupart des cas, une justification morale avait déjà été trouvée lorsque les faits ont été commis, ce qui pose la question de l’intérêt d’un éventuel repentir et de l’impact qu’il faudrait lui donner sur la peine. Les magistrats pensent pour la plupart qu’ils sont influencés par les émotions comme le seraient le commun des mortels. Seul un magistrat estime que l’expérience permet aux magistrats de maîtriser cet effet. Cependant, aucun ne peut quantifier l’importance de l’effet sur la peine. Certains l’estiment fort limité, d’autres plus important. Conclusions Ces recherches et observations posent les questions suivantes : doit-on prendre en compte, de manière contrôlée voire légiférée, l’effet des émotions comme la culpabilité sur la peine et, si oui, comment ? Dans certains pays, comme le Japon, les excuses ne peuvent pas être prises en compte. En effet, un prévenu s’excusera dans 99 % des cas, simplement parce que les normes de l’honneur l’imposent. Dès lors, alors que les excuses pourraient être interprétées comme un aveu de la transgression, elles ne sont pas autorisées car même un innocent pourrait s’excuser normativement. A quelles conclusions arriverions-nous si nous devions lever ce débat en Belgique ?

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships between perceived maternal rejection and psychological distress of adolescents. In addition to that, mediator roles of early maladaptive schemas in this relationship were explored. A total of 356 second-grade high school students (198 females and 158 males) were participated in the study. Participants ranged in age from 15 to 18 (M = 16.17, SD= 0.53). Data was collected by a questionnaire packet consisting Demographic data form, Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ), Parental Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) , trait part of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), trait part of State-Trait Anger Inventory (ANG-T) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Preceding the main analyses, factor analysis for YSQ was performed. It yielded three higher-order factors for YSQ as Impaired Limits- Exaggerated Standards, Disconnection-Rejection, and Impaired Autonomy-Other Directedness. Following factor analysis, ANOVAs were employed to assess differences between adolescents perceiving high acceptance and high rejection in terms of psychological distress measures (i.e., anger, positive affect, negative affect, and anxiety). It was found that adolescents perceiving high rejection were more likely to experience anger, negative affect, and anxiety than those perceiving high acceptance. In order to test whether Impaired Limits-Exaggerated Standards, Disconnection-Rejection, and Impaired Autonomy-Other Directedness mediate the relationship between perceptions of maternal rejection and adolescents&rsquo / anger, positive affect, negative affect, and anxiety respectively, separate hierarchical regression analyses were conducted as suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986). Mediation analyses revealed in general that both maternal rejection and schema domains had main effects on psychological distress measures. However, none of the schema domains did mediate the relationship between maternal rejection and psychological distress measures except for the disconnection-rejection schema domain. The result revealed that disconnection-rejection schema domain mediated the relationship between maternal rejection and anger. These findings were discussed with reference to the relevant literature. Future research topics were suggested and therapeutic implications of the study were discussed.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, August, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until September 1, 2014. Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-99)

Abstract In the summer of 2009, Tampa General care providers met with Hospital Administration to express concern that violence on care units was a growing problem and making it difficult to provide quality care. Nurses stated that such violence was one important reason many of their peers choose to retire. Administration took this situation seriously and formed a committee to gather information and submit suggestions to reduce the violence. The committee consisted of representatives from several nursing units, human resources, risk management, security, and administration. Duties assigned included investigation of the actual number of reports on all units and trends. The committee was also charged with the production of a report regarding reviewing other hospital data, literature review, and developing recommendations. Internal reports indicated that the total prevalence of reported violence as well as the incidence per patient had increased annually since 2005. The hospital reports contradicted the national literature regarding the emergency department (ED) and psychiatric unit (Psych) being the two hospital units with the highest number of violent events. One possible reason for the difference is that these departments require all care providers to attend de-escalation and self-defense classes annually. Based on these findings, the researcher developed and adapted training similar to that of the ED for other units reporting aggressive, abusive, and violent patients. The committee approved a draft plan for implementation. Following presentation to Nursing Administration, some modifications were made, and the Internal Review Boards of the hospital and University of South Florida (USF) approved the project. The hypothesis tested in this study was whether training in de-escalation and self-defense modifies providers' behaviors to prevent or reduce aggressive, abusive, or violent behavior by patients and visitors. The independent variable was training. The dependent variable was requests for assistance with unruly, angry, or violent patients or visitors. Event reports of the year prior were used for historical comparison. Event reports for the experimental period were assembled subsequent to the training for comparison. Nursing Administration selected two units to receive the training intervention. The two units selected were neither the worst nor the best in numbers, but rather the middle. Nursing required that all training be scheduled in normal department meetings and that Nurse Managers of the units agree to participate. The research design presumed that at least 85% of care providers on a unit would attend the training. Schedules were developed to accommodate all care providers. The training was presented during June of 2010. Experimental and comparison units were monitored each month for the number of reported violent events (Code Grays) on each unit. During the fourth months of monitoring, there was a data spike in the Cardiac Care unit. No action was taken until another spike occurred during the sixth month. It was determined that an error had occurred that partially invalidated the data from the Cardiac Care unit: the 85% participation rate among staff had not been reached. Monitoring continued for 12 months after the training. The Eldercare unit showed reduced requests for assistance. Overall, the Cardiac Care unit increased requests for assistance from the year before. Results were adjusted for patient census. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Testing was performed and displayed using box plots to show how far the median changed during the research from one group to the next. The analysis compared prior year with the year following the interventions, and indicated that there was a movement toward a reduction of Code Grays. To determine if there was a difference between comparison units and experimental units 12 months after the training, Poisson Regression Analysis was utilized. When the comparison units were set as the reference, Poisson analysis indicated the events were decreasing on both units. The Cardiac Care unit did not have a statistically significant p value. The Eldercare unit had a p value of .019. In conclusion, the results are mixed and statistically inconclusive. From the care providers' perspective, any reduction in violence is significant. The data regarding the training interventions indicates that there was an empirical, albeit not a statistically significant, change in Code Gray reports. Training may have reduced the violence on the Eldercare unit by nearly half.

This dissertation focuses on an occupational stressor that has been recently introduced to the literature, illegitimate tasks, or tasks that seem unreasonable or unnecessary at work. Previous work has demonstrated the relationship between illegitimate tasks and a narrow set of discrete emotions as well as negative employee performance behaviors. The current research contributes to the literature by expanding the nomological network associated with illegitimate tasks and uses a rigorous daily diary methodology in a full-time working sample. It was expected that illegitimate tasks reduce state levels of self-esteem as well as other employee well-being indicators including anger, depressive mood, fatigue, job satisfaction, and sleep quality. Ninety participants filled out trait level surveys and subsequently completed daily dairy questionnaires three times daily for two workweeks. Daily diaries assessed experiences of illegitimate tasks as well as self-esteem and well-being. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to test primary hypotheses. Results indicate that anger and job satisfaction are consistently, significantly associated with illegitimate task episodes throughout workdays; however, responses dissipate overnight. Depressive mood and fatigue tend to be related to illegitimate tasks as the workday carries on and these responses appear to persist into the following workday. Results are consistent with the notion that illegitimate tasks reduce state self-esteem. However, high trait levels of self-esteem may negate this relationship. No effects on sleep quality were evident. In sum, daily experience of illegitimate task episodes represents a meaningful occupational stressor that predicts reductions in employee self-esteem and employee well-being.

Women who have experienced depression are vulnerable to future depressive episodes as well as emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal difficulties. Several theoretical models have explored the link between maladaptive anger expression and women's depression (Jack, 1991; Davanloo, 1980; Cox, Bruckner, & Stabb, 2003), but the existing research examining this relationship has primarily relied on self-report methods. A growing area of research has begun assessing women's communication styles in the context of interactions with their romantic partners. This field of observational research has studied communication patterns in couples with marital conflict, but no studies have yet examined anger expression in women with a history of depression. Therefore, the present study examined anger expression in 26 formerly-depressed (FD) and 30 never-depressed (ND) women and their partners. Couples were a part of a larger community study investigating cognitive and interpersonal factors in depression. Participants completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID; Spitzer et al., 1988) on the telephone to screen for eligibility and determine FD/ND group status. Women and their partners completed self-report measures of depressive symptoms, emotional expression, relationship conflict, and relationship intimacy. Couples also completed an observational interaction task to assess patterns of communication. An observational coding system was developed in collaboration with Deborah Jacobvitz, Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin to assess couples' direct anger expression, hostility, and emotional attunement. The results indicated that contrary to predictions, women expressed more direct anger but similar levels of hostility compared to their male partners. Second, findings supported the prediction that self-reported emotional expression would be associated with relationship intimacy and inversely related to relationship conflict. However, the observational patterns of direct anger, hostility, and emotional attunement were not associated with the relationship outcomes. Results also indicated that FD and ND women did not differ in their patterns of direct anger and hostility expression during the observational interaction task. Exploratory analyses found that individuals' behaviors exhibited during the interaction task were consistent with self-reported ratings of these behaviors. Finally, exploratory analyses also indicated that individuals' patterns of behavior such as hostility impacted their partners' perceptions of the quality of their relationships. / text

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to describe men’s experiences of depression in order to provide direction for future research of the screening, diagnosing, and treatment of men's depression. Previous research indicates that men experience different depressive symptoms than women, and there is a possibility that men's depression is not being adequately captured by current screening standards, which would theoretically lead to a large number of men with unrecognized, undiagnosed, and untreated depression. If this is the case, this may explain the disproportionately low number of men diagnosed with depression compared to women, in contrast to the disproportionately high number of men who complete suicides. There is a need in the literature for descriptions of depression experienced by men in order to determine the adequacy of current psychometric screening tools and approaches to treatment which are currently in practice. This qualitative study seeks to begin to fill in this gap in the literature. Key findings indicate that intentionally and unintentionally hide their feelings of depression, and that men experience anger as an early sign of depression. In addition, men often do not recognize their distress as depression until someone else suggests they seek professional help; and men use various methods of distraction to cope with their distress, including excessive working, sleeping, eating, TV watching, and alcohol consumption. Recommendations for further research are discussed.

As a result of the restructuring of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 1996 and various other factors, Police Social Work Services decided to broaden the scope of its services by developing and introducing proactive personnel capacity-building programmes. By 1999, 15 such programmes had been developed. The need subsequently arose for a comprehensive impact assessment and cost-benefit analysis of these programmes and the Evaluation of Personnel Capacity-Building Programmes (EPCaP) study was launched in 2001. The evaluation of the Anger Management, Assertiveness and Conflict Management Programmes, as well as a cost-benefit analysis of the Life Skills programmes as a whole, formed part of this research. Objectives: This study had two primary aims. The first was to determine the effect of the Assertiveness, Conflict Management and Anger Management programmes on the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of SAPS personnel. The second was to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the Life Skills programmes as a whole. Method: In the case of the effect measurement, a comparison group pre-test and post-test design and triangulation were used. Eighteen measurement scales and a presenter's evaluation questionnaire were developed and completed by 627 experimental group respondents, 150 comparison group members and 32 presenters. In the cost-benefit analysis, a comprehensive, computerised ROI analysis programme that was developed by Meyer et al. (2003) was primarily used. It measured the interventions' return on investment (ROI), net present value (NPV), payback period, internal rate of return (IRR) and learning cost per attendee. Results: By means of the triangulation of measurements it was ascertained that the three personnel capacity-building programmes had a practical significant effect on the respondents' knowledge, attitude and behaviour. They could, therefore, be considered as effective tools in the hands of Police Social Work Services which not only empowered SAPS personnel to lead more productive professional lives, but also enhanced their personal well-being. The cost-benefit analysis indicated that the Life Skills Programmes represented a worthwhile investment of the organisation's time, money and effort. In its first year of implementation alone, it produced a return on investment (ROI) coefficient of more than 1700%. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.