The association between fear of future workplace violence and depressive symptoms among nurses based on different experiences of workplace violence: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Fear of future workplace violence (FFWV) has a negative impact on individuals’ health. However, no study has investigated the association between FFWV and depressive symptoms. Nurses with different experiences of workplace violence may have different levels of FFWV and differences in mental health. This study explored the association between FFWV and depressive symptoms among Chinese nurses with different experiences of workplace violence. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 1888 Chinese nurses from 12 tertiary hospitals in Shandong Province. The Fear of Future Violence at Work scale was used to measure FFWV. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between FFWV and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 45.9% (no aggression group: 24.3%; non-physical violence group: 46.1%; physical violence group: 63.7%), and 72.8% of nurses had high levels of fear of future workplace violence (no aggression group: 60.2%; non-physical violence group: 75.6%; physical violence group: 70.8%). Compared with low levels of FFWV, high levels of FFWV were associated with more depressive symptoms among nurses in the no aggression group (odds ratio [OR] = 3.269, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.102–9.695) and in the non-physical violence group (OR = 2.338, 95% CI: 1.385–3.945). CONCLUSION: Nurses who had experienced physical violence had the most depressive symptoms and nurses with experience of non-physical violence had the greatest FFWV. Our findings suggested that there was a significant association between FFWV and depressive symptoms among Chinese nurses in the no aggression and non-physical violence groups. Hospital administrators need to address FFWV needs when developing strategies to reduce depressive symptoms among nurses.