Currently there is a high rate of registered nurse (RN) turnover due in part to bullying and harassment among peers; which fosters lower quality nursing care, jeopardizes patient safety, and increases healthcare costs. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to examine the relationship between inpatient nurses' individual self-esteem and reported bullying and harassment with their intent to leave their job. Two theories were used to provide structure to this work: cognitive experimental self theory and oppressed group theory. Data were collected using the Negative Acts Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Turnover Intentions Measure. All RNs in a Midwestern state were emailed an invitation link to the instruments housed on SurveyMonkey. Only those respondents who claimed to be inpatient RNs were included in the study (n = 770). The three research questions asked about bullying and harassment among inpatient RNs, about the self-esteem of RNs who experienced bullying and harassment and those who have not, and if those RNs who experienced bullying and harassments intended to leave their jobs. With a 2.1% response rate, results indicated that there was a relationship among RNs and bullying and harassment, the self-esteem of RNs who did not experience bullying and harassment was higher than those who did experience bullying and harassment, and there was a positive relationship between RNs experiencing bullying and harassment and their intent to leave their jobs. This research suggests that if bullying and harassment patterns among RNs are identified sooner, RN turnover can be reduced, patient care quality and safety can be improved, and U.S. healthcare costs can decrease.

This study investigated the issue of student cyberbullying in Florida's public middle schools. First, a content analysis of six Florida school district anti-bullying policies was conducted to determine the alignment between the state model policy and district policies. Next, 68 middle school principals from the same six Florida school districts completed the Cyberbullying Policies and Response Principal Survey online. Survey respondents were either members or non-members of the state mentoring team against bullying and harassment. Findings showed that all six school districts' anti-bullying policies were comprehensive in addressing the definitions of bullying behaviors, to include cyberbullying, as well as for reporting and responding to bullying incidents. However, it was found that improvements could be made concerning periodic review and updating of bullying policies as well as addressing issues of inclusiveness. Additionally, it was found that the middle school principals were generally aware of the seriousness of cyberbullying regardless of their membership status on the state mentoring team against bullying and harassment. They enforced both technology and bullying policies to prevent and respond to student cyberbullying. This was done either by their own initiative or as directed by the school districts. It was also discovered that principals were sensitive to the fact that students at their schools had been cybervictims, cyberbullies, or both. Moreover, principals believed that a majority of those activities occurred off-campus. It remains, though, uncertain as to what factors influence whether or not a school has a campus specific cyberbullying policy. However, principals conveyed an understanding that education about and enforcement of cyberbullying policies was imperative. Hence, more research is needed to determine how educators can continue to confront this type of adolescent aggression both on and off-campus.

En los últimos 20 años, la investigación científica ha puesto de manifiesto el riesgo psicosocial que conllevan las relaciones interpersonales y organizacionales en el desarrollo y escalonamiento de los conflictos laborales percibidos. En este sentido, la presente tesis titulada “Estudio comparativo sobre el hostigamiento psicológico o mobbing en personal de enfermería de Brasil y España” tiene como objetivo estudiar la experiencia de hostigamiento psicológico en personal de enfermería en dos contextos geográficos distintos. Para ello, se diseñó un estudio descriptivo transversal y se eligieron dos centros hospitalarios de características similares, el Hospital Universitario Son Dureta (actualmente Hospital Universitario Son Espases) en la ciudad de Palma de Mallorca (España) y el Hospital do IPSEMG (Instituto de Previdência dos Servidores do Estado de Minas Gerais) en Belo Horizonte (Brasil). Fueron encuestados de forma voluntaria 285 profesionales de enfermería en España y 274 en Brasil. Para ello, se utilizó una batería evaluativa constituida por un conjunto de cuestionarios acordes con las variables del estudio: variables Sociodemográficas y Laborales; Hostigamiento Psicológico en el Trabajo (HPT-R); Estilos Atributivos; Estrategias de Afrontamiento y Cuestionario de Síntomas de Estrés. Los resultados evidenciaron una muestra predominantemente femenina, con una media de edad cercana a los 40 años. La percepción de hostigamiento obtenida varió considerablemente en los tres criterios de medida utilizados, siendo significativamente mayor en Brasil que en España. La procedencia del hostigamiento fue predominantemente intraprofesional, lo que desencadenó importantes síntomas de estrés. El género femenino, el deseo de abandonar la profesión y la falta de participación en la toma de decisiones, se asociaron significativamente con la percepción de hostigamiento psicológico. También presentaron significación estadística con dicho fenómeno el sentimiento de Humillación y el Rechazo Personal (Factor 1 del HPT-R) y los síntomas de estrés. En contrapartida, la Búsqueda de Soluciones se asoció negativamente con el fenómeno estudiado. Las estrategias de afrontamiento ante las conductas hostiles fueron significativamente más activas en Brasil y más evitativas en España. Los resultados de este estudio ponen de manifiesto que el hostigamiento psicológico en enfermería es una conducta deliberada que no tiene fronteras, donde la hostilidad es sobretodo intraprofesional, haciendo de la enfermería una profesión cada vez más vulnerable a la agresión. / In the last twenty years, the scientific community has shown the psychological and social risks derived from the interpersonal relationships in the conflict development at the work environment. In this regard, the objective of this PhD Thesis, entitled “Psychological harassment or mobbing in nursing staff in Brazil and Spain: A comparison”, is to study the experience of psychological harassment in the nursing staff from two different geographical contexts. A cross sectional study was carried out at two hospitals with similar characteristics: Hospital Universitario Son Espases, formerly Son Dureta, in Palma de Mallorca (Spain); and Hospital do IPSEMG (Instituto de Previdência dos Servidores do Estado de Minas Gerais) in Belo Horizonte (Brazil). In these hospitals, 285 and 274 volunteers participated in Spain and Brazil, respectively. Data were gathered using self-administered questionnaires. The following instruments were used: Socio-demographic and occupational data questionnaire specifically designed for this study, Psychological Harassment in the workplace-Revised version Questionnaire (HPT-R), atributional styles , Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) and Stress Symptoms Questionnaire. The results showed that the majority of the respondents were women, ca. 40-years old. The perception of the psychological harassment was higher in the nursing staff from Brazil than in those from Spain. The psychological harassment was mainly from the colleagues, i.e. nurses, which lead to serious stress symptoms. The female gender, the desire of leaving the profession and the lack of participation in the decision making processes were positively correlated with the perception of psychological harassment; as well as the “humiliation and personal derogation” factor. In contrast, the search of solutions was negatively correlated with the psychological harassment. The copping strategies registered were “Active” in Brazil and “Avoidant” in Spain. This study highlights that the psychological harassment in the nursing staff is a deliberate behavior in which the hostility uses to come from the colleagues, which increments the vulnerability of the nursing staff to this phenomenon.