Workplace Violence, Psychosocial Risks and Mental Health Across Healthcare Professional Groups

Healthcare workers are exposed to workplace violence, yet the extent and nature of this exposure may differ considerably across professional groups. Psychosocial working conditions, including high work demands, emotional demands, working-time pressures and employment relations, may shape the conditions in which workplace violence occurs and is experienced. This study investigates psychosocial risks, workplace violence and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress among nurses, physicians, healthcare assistants and administrative staff, and examines whether workplace violence is statistically associated with the relationship between psychosocial risks and these symptoms. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 289 Portuguese healthcare workers using three validated instruments: the Psychosocial Risk Factors Scale (INSAT_ERPS), the Aggression and Violence at Work Scale and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Group differences were tested with Kruskal–Wallis tests, associations with Spearman correlations, and mediation and moderation analyses were performed using SPSS and the PROCESS macro. Results showed that workplace violence affected all professional groups but was more intense among nurses. Psychosocial risk was strongly associated with workplace violence, and this association did not differ across professional groups. However, neither psychosocial risks nor violence were associated with depression, anxiety or stress, and no statistically significant indirect association was observed. These findings highlight the importance of addressing workplace violence as an organizational and occupational health issue rather than a problem confined to specific professions.