A new mobbing scale for academicians (MS-A) in higher education institutions

Oct 15, 2026

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A new mobbing scale (MS-A) was developed and tested for academicians in higher education institutions using a two-stage design. An in-depth interview study with Turkish academicians generated mobbing behavior items, which were then administered to 165 academicians across eight state universities in Turkey. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses assessed construct validity, while Cronbach’s alpha established reliability. Results indicated strong validity and reliability, revealing a two-dimensional structure: vertical/horizontal mobbing and vertical mobbing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages10

Reading Time25 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Workplace mobbing as a negative work-life phenomenon

Mobbing terminology and historical development

African Educational Research Journal Vol. 8(4), pp. 831-840, November 2020 DOI: 10. 30918/AERJ.84.20.170 ISSN: 2354-2160 Full Length Research Paper A new mobbing scale for academicians (MS-A) in higher education institutions Suleyman M. Yildiz Sport Management Department, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Mugla Sitki Kocman University, 48000 Kotekli, Mugla, Turkey. Accepted 6 October, 2020 | ABSTRACT
This study proposed and tested a new mobbing scale for academicians in higher education institutions. A two-stage methodology consisting of a qualitative approach and quantitative measuring was used in the study. First, mobbing behavior items were developed by using an in-depth interview technique on a group of Turkish academicians. Then, the developed items were formulated and applied to academicians (n = 165) working in eight state universities in Turkey. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to test the construct validity of the scale. Additionally, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was examined in order to determine its reliability. The results of the analysis showed high validity and reliability values and revealed a two-dimensional structure of the scale. These dimensions were labeled as“vertical/horizontal mobbing” and “vertical mobbing.” The scale was labeled as the Mobbing Scale for Academicians (MS-A) . As a result, MS-A is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring mobbing in the higher education environment and determines the level of mobbing behaviors. Unlike the mobbing scales in the literature, this scale is more effective because it is developed specifically for academicians.
Additionally, the scale is considered to be more economical in terms of time and labor due to its brevity. Keywords: Mobbing, scale, academician, higher education institutions. | | | --- | --- | | Email: smyi[ldiz@gmail.com. Tel:](ldiz@gmail.com. Tel:) + 90 252 211 31 75. Fax: +90 252 211 19 33.
Summary of this paper was presented at the 9th International Social Sciences Conference in the Balkans, in October 26-27, 2019. | Kusadasi, Turkey, | INTRODUCTION Low-quality relationships among employees and their negative results are a fact of work life (Oruh et al. , 2019) . There are many problems in the work environment based on negative relationships among employees, one of which is workplace mobbing (O’Moore et al. , 1998) . Workplace mobbing has received significant attention in the past few years on a scientific level. This is a relatively new concept for behavioral scientists, which illustrates in the form of unfriendly behavior of employee at the workplace (Qureshi et al. , 2015) . The International Labour Organization (ILO) reported an increasing trend of negative psychological work environment related to mobbing that played an important role in workplace violence. For example, “a 1994 survey by the Canadian Union of Public Employees showed that almost 70 percent of respondents believed that verbal aggression was the leading form of violence against them,” emphasized the ILO report ([http://www.ilo.org](http://www.ilo.org)[ ](http://www.ilo.org)[Retrieved September 10](Retrieved September 10) , 2019) . Researchers revealed that mobbing at the workplace was a very widespread phenomenon, especially in European countries. In the Fifth European Working Conditions Survey 2010 by the European Foundation, in the EU-27 Member States, employees were interviewed and asked if they had been subjected to mobbing at work in the past year ([http://www.eurofound.europa.eu](http://www.eurofound.europa.eu) Retrieved October 29, 2019) . On average, 4. 1% of the employees stated exposure to mobbing at the workplace. On the other hand, Tsuno et al. (2010) reported that approximately 4 to 16% of the European workforce had been exposed to some levels of mobbing in the workplace. In a large survey conducted in the UK health sector, it was indicated that one-third of the workers were exposed to mobbi

FAQs

How was the MS-A scale developed in the study?

The study used a two-stage approach: in-depth interviews with Turkish academicians were used to develop mobbing behavior items, followed by administering the formulated items to academicians.

What data and statistical methods were used to test the scale?

The scale was applied to 165 academicians in eight state universities, and exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to test construct validity. Cronbach’s alpha was examined for reliability.

What structure and dimensions were found for the MS-A scale?

Analysis revealed high validity and reliability and a two-dimensional structure. The dimensions were labeled vertical/horizontal mobbing and vertical mobbing.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanford