AIM: To develop an instrument to determine nurses' perceptions of psychologically violent behaviours that they are exposed to in the workplace. BACKGROUND: According to Leymann, psychological terror or mobbing in work life involves hostile and unethical communication, which is directed in a systematic way towards one individual who, due to mobbing, is pushed into a helpless and defenceless position, and being held there by means of continuing mobbing activities. DESIGN: Survey. METHODS: Because nurses who work in hospitals are generally the principle victims of physical, emotional and verbal violence due to the nature of their work environment, the research sample comprised 476 hospital nurses. Data were collected via self-administered questionnaires. RESULTS: The instrument to determine the perception of workplace psychologically violent behaviours contains 33 items and four factors (individual's isolation from work, attack on professional status, attack on personality and direct attack). All items have shown statistically significant correlation (p < 0.01); the instrument's total Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient was found to be 0.93. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show that the instrument's validity and reliability are within the limits of an acceptable level and that it is an instrument that will encourage more studies on this subject. RELEVANCE TO PRACTICE: Defining the psychological pressure that nurses are exposed to in the workplace and determining its negative effects on the victim of workplace psychological pressure and on the institution will make it possible to protect individuals and the institution from psychological violence with both individual and institutional practices.
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