title: Workplace violence: a study of Turkish workers.
abstract: This research was conducted to address the experience of workplace violence of Turkish workers from different sectors and to investigate the impact of the exposed violence on their psychological well-being. Data were collected anonymously with printed questionnaires from the volunteer participants and depended on self-reporting. The response rate was 79.0% (1708/2161). The prevalence of workplace violence was found to be 44.8%. The most common type was verbal violence together with mobbing (bullying). Victims of physical violence were mostly males, whereas females were found to be victims of verbal, psychological and sexual violence. Most cases did not result in legal action and the victims remained silent. Psychological well-being of exposed workers in terms of depression, anxiety and stress seemed to deteriorate. Workplace violence remains a silent epidemic in Turkey. Preventive measures against workplace violence and social support for violated workers do not exist.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serpil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aytac
authors.forename: Veysel
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bozkurt
authors.forename: Nuran
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bayram
authors.forename: Selver
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yildiz
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aytac
authors.forename: Fusun Sokullu
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Akinci
authors.forename: Nazan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bilgel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult