Dimensions of mobbing: study in the field of nursing care for the critically ill person
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29352/mill0223e.43399Keywords:
nursing; workplace bullying; critical careAbstract
Introduction: Experiences of mobbing, or Workplace Bullying, reveal that nurses providing care to Critically Ill Patients (CIP) show increased vulnerability to this phenomenon.
Objective: To analyze mobbing experiences according to their dimensions and Global Indices (GI), based on the perceptions of nurses in CIP.
Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted using the Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terrorization (LIPT-60). The purposive sample comprised 226 nurses in CIP, mostly female (77%), with a mean age of 40.36 years; 35.0% had a Master’s degree, and 19.5% were specialists.
Results: Experiences of mobbing, assessed with Likert-scale responses (0 = Never to 4 = Extremely), showed higher prevalence in Blockage of Communication (M = 1.47; SD = 0.63), Defamation (M = 1.15; SD = 0.54), and Intentional Isolation (M = 1.00; SD = 0.44). Dimensions such as Direct Attacks, Personal Discredit, and Professional Manipulation presented mean values below 1, indicating lower occurrence. Global Indices (NEAP, IGAP, IMAP) revealed that participants experienced, on average, 14 mobbing behaviors of moderate-to-high intensity. These results highlight the persistence of negative interpersonal dynamics in critical care environments.
Conclusion: The analysis of the dimensions of mobbing identified that insidious behaviors such as Communication Blockage, Defamation, and Isolation are common and that, in general, they reveal a pattern of relational and indirect harassment, obstructed communication, and the undermining of the professional’s reputation, as opposed to overt aggression. Mobbing is a measurable problem that negatively affects nurses’ mental health and their professional and interpersonal performance; therefore, future research may explore the longitudinal patterns of its development.
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