Negative interpersonal interactions in student training settings

Abstract

Studies demonstrate that negative interpersonal interaction(s) (NII) such as bullying are frequent and harmful to individuals in workplace and higher education student settings. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether the degree of perceived severity of NII varies by the status of the actor. The present study explored the moderating effect of actor status (supervisor or peer) on perceived severity (labeled ‘bother’) of experienced and witnessed NII, in workplace training settings, in a sample of students from professional Faculties including Education, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work (N=68). The researchers hypothesised that NII experienced and witnessed from a supervisor toward a student would be associated with a greater degree of bother than NII experienced or witnessed from a peer toward a peer. Results showed that actor status played a significant role in predicting bother even after the effects of experienced and witnessed NII were taken into account. In following up on this finding, it was revealed that both peer and supervisor status predicted bother for those who had experienced NII whereas only peer status predicted bother for those who had witnessed NII. Finally, opposite to expectation, peer status demonstrated a stronger relationship to experienced NII than did supervisor status. Educators should be mindful of both peer and supervisor behaviours.

Keywords:

• student training
• bullying
• negative interactions