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Abstract
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Context : Workplace bullying (WPB) is a series of persistent negative interactions that affect a clinician's ability to perform his or her role. Although WPB has been studied in other health professions, to date, no information exists pertaining to WPB in athletic training.
OBJECTIVE : To determine the prevalence of WPB in the collegiate setting and examine factors that influence its occurrence. Design : Cross-sectional study. Setting : Collegiate setting. Patients or Other Participants : There were 723 (329 female, 394 male) athletic trainers (ATs) aged 37.5 ± 10.4 years. Data Collection and Analysis : We collected data via the validated and reliable online Athletic Training Environment Survey. Descriptive statistics were obtained to determine a bullying score for each AT and examine the prevalence of WPB. Chi-square analyses were performed to examine the differences between (1) sex, (2) academic degree level, (3) employment title, and (4) National Athletic Trainers' Association district.
RESULTS : A total of 106 participants (14.7%) had a score of 2 or higher, indicating they were bullied in the athletic training setting. Of those bullied, 47 (44.3%) were women and 59 (55.7%) were men. There was no difference between women and men with respect to having experienced bullying (χ(2)1 = 0.068, P =.794). Moreover, no difference existed in the prevalence of bullying among ATs holding various degrees (χ(2)3 = 6.73, P =.081) or among ATs holding various titles within an organization (χ(2)5 = 3.55, P =.616). More (χ(2)1 = 23.77, P = <.001) perpetrators were male (74.2%, n = 75) than female (25.8%, n = 26); of these, 38.2% (n = 39) were coaches, 17.6% (n = 18) were supervisory ATs, and 8.8% (n = 9) were coworker ATs.
CONCLUSIONS : Bullying is experienced by both male and female ATs in the collegiate setting, and a higher number of bullies were male. More research is necessary to explore WPB in other work settings.
Language: en |