Workplace violence (KWVS®13): scale development and validation in the Korean context

Abstract

Background: Workplace violence refers to any act or threat of physical violence, verbal abuse, harassment, intimidation, bullying, mobbing, or other aggressive and disruptive behaviors that occur at work. This study aims to develop and validate a revision of the Korean Workplace Violence Scale (KWVS degrees 13), based on the first edition of the Korean Workplace Violence Scale (KWVS-24), and to provide practical applications and guidelines for the Korean workplace environment. Methods: The revised KWVS degrees 13 was developed by restructuring the 24-item KWVS through a review process involving eight experts. To validate the reliability and validity of KWVS degrees 13, a self-administered survey comprising KWVS degrees 13, burnout, and depression scales was conducted among 359 service industry workers. KWVS degrees 13 was reclassified, and its reliability and validity were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to establish sex-specific cutoff values (normal vs. risk) of the scale. Results: KWVS degrees 13 consists of 13 items across four subscales: "psychological and sexual violence from customers" (4 items), "psychological and sexual violence from supervisors or coworkers" (4 items), "physical assault from customers, supervisors, or coworkers" (2 items), and "organizational protective system for workplace violence" (3 items). We found that KWVS degrees 13 shows relatively good validity (content validity ratio for content validity: 0.888; success rate of item convergent and discriminant validity: 100%, and significant correlation coefficient with burnout (r = 0.115-0.83, p < 0.05) and depression (r = 0.098-0.348, p < 0.05) with the exception of Organizational Violence Protection System for Workplace Violence) and reliability (Cronbach's alpha: 0.827-0.860). The reference values for determining risk groups according to the intensity of exposure to workplace violence are presented separately by sex. Conclusions: KWVS degrees 13 is a robust and useful measurement tool to objectively and quantitatively assess the intensity and magnitude of workplace violence. It incorporates important considerations for workplace violence assessment and provides a reliable framework for evaluating workplace violence in various professional settings.