Association of Workplace Bullying with Suicide Ideation and Attempt Among Chinese Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nurses experience a high incidence of workplace bullying and are at a higher risk of suicide than the general population. However, there is no empirical evidence on how exposure to workplace bullying is associated with suicide ideation and attempts among nurses. Nurses were recruited from tertiary hospitals in Shandong Province, China, using stratified cluster sampling. Suicide ideation and attempts were assessed using two items, and the Workplace Psychologically Violent Behaviors Instrument was used to measure subtypes of workplace bullying. The prevalence of workplace bullying, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts was 30.6%, 16.8%, and 10.8%, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, victims of workplace bullying were at a high risk of suicide ideation and attempts. Among workplace bullying subtypes, individuals’ isolation from work and direct negative behaviors were predictors of both suicide ideation and attempts; attack on personality only predicted suicide attempts. The more bullying subtypes experienced by nurses, the greater their likelihood of suicide ideation and attempts. These findings suggested that workplace bullying was associated with an increased risk of suicide ideation and attempts in nurses, with both independent and cumulative risks. Interventions should focus on prevention and managing the effects of workplace bullying among nurses.