Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Luxembourg workplace mobbing scale (LWMS) among resident physicians: A cross-sectional study
İbrahim Eryılmaz, Olgu Aygün, Özden GökdemirBackground
Workplace mobbing is a persistent occupational hazard in medical training, undermining clinician well-being, retention and, ultimately, patient care. Concise, psychometrically sound instruments are needed for routine monitoring in high-workload settings.
Objective
To translate and evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish Luxembourg Workplace Mobbing Scale (LWMS) among resident physicians.
Methods
In this cross-sectional validation study, 375 residents from internal medicine and surgical specialties at a tertiary teaching hospital in Turkey completed the Turkish LWMS. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α, McDonald's ω), structural validity (one-factor confirmatory factor analysis) and convergent validity (associations with workload indicators) were assessed. Multiple linear regression examined independent predictors of mobbing exposure.
Results
The Turkish LWMS supported a unidimensional structure with excellent fit (CFI=0.994, TLI=0.988, RMSEA=0.052; SRMR=0.022). Reliability was strong (α=0.863; ω=0.864). Response distributions suggested task-related negative acts were more salient than overt public humiliation; assignment of absurd or meaningless duties was most frequently endorsed, being ridiculed in front of others was least. Weekly working hours showed modest bivariate associations with mobbing exposure, but in the adjusted model specialty group was the only significant predictor: surgical residents reported higher LWMS scores than internal medicine residents (B = 0.772, p < 0.001).
Conclusion
The Turkish LWMS is a valid, reliable and time-efficient tool for assessing workplace mobbing in residency. Rather than workload being the key driver of mobbing exposure, findings point to the role of specialty-specific organisational culture, emphasizing the need for targeted prevention efforts in high-risk departments.