Post-traumatic symptoms among victims of workplace bullying: exploring gender differences and shattered assumptions

The aims of the present study were twofold; assessing the prevalence and intensity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in victims of bullying, and exploring whether victims of bullying differ in their basic assumptions compared to a control group. A total of 183 victims of bullying and 183 subjects of a control group took part in this research. Results showed that 42.6% of the total sample met all DSM-IV-TR criteria for PTSD, whereas 54.1% did not fulfill A1 criterion. Posttraumatic symptoms were more prevalent among women (49%) compared with men (35.3%). Furthermore, victims showed significant more negative beliefs about the world, the people and themselves compared to their non-bullied controls. These results fit well with cognitive theory of trauma.