Mediating Role of Future Fear of Violence Between the Direct Violence and Witnessed Violence and Psychological Capital: A Study of Doctors and Nurses

Abstract

Healthcare professionals, particulary doctors and nurses, experience a complex relationship between direct violence and witnessed violence in the workplace. This study investigates how direct and witnessed violence affect psychological capital through the mediating role of future violence.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive and correlational research design was employed in this study. Data were collected from health institutions in western T & uuml;rkiye, with a total of 420 doctors and nurses participating in this study. The data collection instruments included Personal Information Form, Exposure to Violence Scale, Fear of Future Violence Scale and Organizational Psychological Capital Scale. The analyze the data, regression techniques were employed to examine the direct effects of violence on psychological capital, as well as to explore the mediating role of future fear of violence in these relationships.ResultsThe analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between direct and witnessed workplace violence; however, future fear of violence did not significantly correlate with either. While future fear of violence was weakly but significantly associated with optimism and self-efficacy, it showed no significant relationship with resilience or hope. Direct violence showed no meaningful correlation with any psychological capital subdimension. Witnessed violence was negatively associated only with optimism. Furthermore, no mediating role of future fear of violence was found between workplace violence and psychological capital.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates limited effects of direct and witnessed workplace violence on the subdimensions of psychological capital. Future fear of violence was not found to significantly mediate the relationship between experiences of violence and psychological capital. These results suggest a more complex dynamic between workplace violence and employees' psychological capital, highlighting the need for further detailed research in this area.