Measuring and Modeling Exposure to External Workplace Aggression in Three Types of Emergency Responders

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Psychology
• Criminology

Background:

• External workplace aggression, aggression initiated by the public, is under-researched.
• Effective measurement of this aggression is crucial for understanding its impact on emergency responders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the measurement properties of external workplace aggression indices.
• To compare frequency-only versus frequency-and-severity measures.
• To examine factor structures across different emergency responder groups.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of self-reported data from 1,499 emergency responders (emergency medical workers, firefighters, police officers) in the Netherlands.
• Factor analyses were used to inspect factor structure and explore measurement properties.
• Relationships between aggression indices and situational risk for violence were tested.

Main Results:

• The frequency index of external workplace aggression exposure was found to be a better measure than a combined frequency and severity index.
• Factor structures of the aggression indices varied significantly between the three emergency responder groups.
• Differences were observed in the number and content of factors across groups.

Conclusions:

• A simple frequency measure is recommended for assessing external workplace aggression exposure in organizations.
• Researchers and policymakers can utilize this simplified approach for examining aggression.
• Understanding group-specific measurement properties is important for accurate assessment in emergency services.