The relationship between physicians' ingroup favoritism to patients and workplace violence: regulatory role of physicians' psychological resilience

PurposeThis research aims to reveal the relationship between ingroup favoritism, seen as a theoretical cause of workplace violence experienced by physicians, with pre-violence, the moment of violence and post-violence, and the role of psychological resilience in coping with workplace violence.Design/methodology/approachA descriptive, cross-sectional design was applied in the research. First, data was gathered via structured questionnaire surveys to the 169 physicians and 321 patients with appointments using the simple random sampling method in three public hospitals in the province of Sanliurfa-Turkey between June 3, 2020, and January 1, 2021. The data was then examined through variance-based structural equation modeling and regression analysis.FindingsResults indicate that the psychological resilience of physicians is essential in coping with workplace violence. The causes of favoritism behaviors were stated as a desire to protect the individuals they are with, increase their power, gain interest and cover their incompetence. It was determined that favoritism behaviors increase violence, but psychological resiliency decreases violence.Originality/valueSome unobservable markers that impose priority for a patient from one's primary group, favoritism, may predict behaviors including violence. Contrary to popular belief, violence against physicians may be prevented by hospital management and social psychology practices rather than taking legal actions or increasing physical safety procedures. Moreover, the simultaneous collection of the data used in the study from physicians and patients with an appointment makes the study more meaningful and unbiased.