Lateral Violence in Nursing Survey: Instrument Development and Validation

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Lateral violence (LV) in nursing is a significant workplace issue.
• Existing instruments require psychometric validation for accurate measurement.
• Understanding the prevalence and causes of LV is crucial for intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the psychometric properties of the Lateral Violence in Nursing Survey (LVNS).
• To assess the reliability and validity of the LVNS in measuring perceived lateral violence among nursing staff.
• To identify distinct subscales within the LVNS related to the prevalence and severity of lateral violence.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual clustering and principal components analysis were applied to survey data from 663 nursing staff.
• Cronbach's alpha (α) was used to evaluate internal consistency of survey subscales.
• The study analyzed responses on the incidence, severity, and causes of lateral violence.

Main Results:

• The LVNS demonstrated two distinct subscales for prevalence/severity of lateral violence (Cronbach's α = 0.74 and 0.86).
• Items on the causes of LV were unidimensional and internally consistent (α = 0.77).
• Rating a cause as "major" correlated with higher reported prevalence/severity of lateral violence.

Conclusions:

• Subsets of the LVNS items are internally reliable, supporting its construct validity.
• The LVNS can be revised to enhance its utility in future research on nursing workplace violence.
• Findings support the LVNS as a valid instrument for assessing lateral violence in nursing.