Abuse and Violence in the Workplace and School

Abstract Workplace violence covers a wide range of phenomena. There is a need for a definition that establishes boundaries between violence and other injurious behaviors while still encompassing a continuum of behaviors related directly to violence, from verbal abuse to institutionalized harassment, to fatal violence itself. Although the articles in the current volume attest to the fact that there is a continuum of phenomena that may lead to violence, and that personality factors are important in the development of preventative approaches, the articles make the equally powerful argument that system-level factors, such as the use of power and the level of communication and collaboration between stakeholders, are of crucial importance in the genesis and prevention of destructive behaviors. A system level of analysis is proposed through which implications for policy and practice can usefully be derived.