Sexually Harassing Behaviors from Patients or Clients and Care Workers’ Mental Health: Development and Validation of a Measure

Sylvie Vincent-Höper, Mareike Adler, Maie Stein, Claudia Vaupel and Albert Nienhaus
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Sylvie Vincent-Höper: Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Mareike Adler: Department of Occupational Medicine, Hazardous Substances and Public Health, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Healthcare and Welfare Services, 22089 Hamburg, Germany
Maie Stein: Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Claudia Vaupel: Department of Occupational Medicine, Hazardous Substances and Public Health, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Healthcare and Welfare Services, 22089 Hamburg, Germany
Albert Nienhaus: Department of Occupational Medicine, Hazardous Substances and Public Health, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Healthcare and Welfare Services, 22089 Hamburg, Germany

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Although evidence reveals severe effects of sexual harassment on care workers’ mental health, there is a scarcity of studies that investigate care workers’ experiences of sexually inappropriate behavior from patients or clients. One reason for this lack of research is that validated measures that assess different types of sexual harassment experienced by employees working with patients or clients are lacking. In this study, we seek to establish a conceptual framework for investigating extraorganizational sexual harassment in healthcare work. Based on this theoretical framework, we developed and validated a measure for assessing sexually harassing behaviors from patients or clients. Data were gathered from heterogeneous samples of employees working in a variety of settings in healthcare. To evaluate the factorial structure of the measure, we conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using a calibration sample ( N = 179) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using a cross-validation sample ( N = 305). The construct validity of the measure was demonstrated by investigating relationships with indicators of care workers’ mental health. EFA revealed three factors, namely, nonverbal, verbal, and physical acts of sexual harassment. Examination of the measure comprising 14 items revealed acceptable internal consistencies and substantial correlations with indicators of care workers’ mental health. This study provides a useful and sound measure for assessing sexual harassment from patients or clients and paves the way for the development of a comprehensive theoretical framework for the assessment of sexual harassment. Furthermore, it facilitates future investigations of risk factors for sexual harassment and protective factors helping healthcare workers cope with sexual harassment from patients or clients.

Keywords: healthcare; measurement; mental health; sexual harassment; validation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:7:p:2570-:d:343198

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