Assessment of Turkish junior male physicians’ exposure to mobbing behavior

AIM: To determine the extent of Turkish junior male physicians’ exposure to mobbing behavior and its correlation with physicians' characteristics. METHODS: The study included physicians recruited for compulsory military service in April 2009. No sampling method was used, questionnaires were delivered to all physicians, and 278 of 292 (95%) questionnaires were returned. We used Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terror including 45 items for data collection and structural equation model for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 87.7% of physicians experienced mobbing behavior. Physicians who worked more than 40 hours a week, single physicians, physicians working in university hospitals and private hospitals, and physicians who did not have occupational commitment were more exposed to mobbing (P < 0.05). Mobbing was not associated with specialty status, service period, age, and personality variables (P > 0.05). All goodness-of- fit indices of the model were acceptable (χ(2) = 1.449, normed fit index = 0.955, Tucker Lewis index = 0.980, comparative fit index = 0.985, and root mean square error of approximation = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS: Workplace mobbing is a critical problem for junior male physicians in Turkey. We suggest an introduction of a reporting system and education activities for physicians in high-risk groups.