Comparative psychometric review of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised in a unionized U.S. public sector workforce.

BACKGROUND

Workplace violence is a global problem that includes actions collectively defined as bullying as perpetrated by a work colleague.

PURPOSE

Two distinct studies were conducted to assess the feasibility of using an abridged 6-item scale within the 21- item Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) designed to assess workplace bullying.

METHODS

The pilot study was a psychometric review of the 21-item NAQ-R, and the main study was conducted to determine the reliability and the validity of using a 6-item version. Cronbach's alpha assessed the internal consistency of the two versions of the NAQ-R. Validity was assessed using logistic regression with theoretically related constructs with a pilot study (n = 420) using the 21-item scale, followed by the main study (n = 11,874) using the 6-item version.

RESULTS

Both the pilot study (21-item)and the main study (6-item) versions of the NAQ-R demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.93-0.86, respectively). Similar to the 21-item, the 6-item version had a significant impact on the intent to remain on the job, being personally affected, and supported the protective role of the organizational climate against exposure to negative acts.

CONCLUSION

This study supports using the 6-item NAQ-R, which can reduce respondent burden and streamline data gathering and analysis.