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Additional file 1: Table 1. Pooled regression estimates: the odds of a MH-consultation (OR with 95% confidence interval) by sex. Table 2. Fixed-effect estimates: the odds of a MH-consultation (OR with 95% confidence interval) by sex.

The overall aim of this thesis is to contribute to an increased understanding of why bullying occurs at workplaces. Workplace bullying may be understood as the process of repeated and prolonged mistreatment and abuse of an individual at work who perceive to have little opportunity or recourses to retaliate in kind. Although the reasons for why bullying develops are likely to be both complex and interwoven, and may be related to both characteristics of the target and characteristics of the perpetrator, prevailing explanations all emphasise the role of the employing organisation in this process. In line with Leymann’s (1996) work environment hypothesis, stressful working environments have for long been assumed to create conditions that, directly or indirectly, may lead to the development of workplace bullying. Although an increasing amount of research have investigated the role of the work environment in relation to workplace bullying during the last couple of decades, many empirical as well as theoretical questions regarding why bullying occurs at workplaces are still left unanswered. This thesis comprises four empirical studies that all examine work environment factors as antecedents of workplace bullying by means of different research approaches and analytical designs. Paper 1 reports on data from a cross-sectional representative sample of the Norwegian workforce. The aim of Paper 1 was to simultaneously investigate a broad spectrum of job characteristics as antecedents of exposure to workplace bullying, in order to examine the relative importance of various factors in relation to bullying. The findings showed role conflict, interpersonal conflicts, and tyrannical and laissez-faire leadership behaviour to be strong predictors of exposure to workplace bullying. However, the strength of associations differed for various measures of bullying, with associations between the predictor variables and bullying measured by a behavioural experience measure found to be generally stronger as compared to a self-labelling measure of bullying. Support was also found for an interactive relationship in explaining bullying, between both decision authority and role conflict for different levels of laissez-faire leadership. The findings also showed that not only targets, but also observers of bullying assessed their work environment more negatively than did noninvolved employees. Paper 2 reports on data from the same cross-sectional sample as employed in Paper 1. The aim of Paper 2 was to investigate antecedent factors for engaging in bullying of others at work. Drawing on previous findings from workplace aggression research and the stressoremotion model of counterproductive work behaviour (Spector & Fox, 2005), Paper 2 investigated the effects of both individual and situational factors as predictors of being a perpetrator of bullying. Results from logistic regression analysis showed that being exposed to workplace bullying, regardless of the frequency, and being male strongly predicted involvement in bullying of others. Although supervisors are often argued to be perpetrators more often than subordinates, the results of Paper 2 identified no such differences as regards perpetrator status. Among the situational factors investigated, role conflict and interpersonal conflicts significantly predicted being a perpetrator of bullying. The findings of Paper 2 highlight the importance of also considering actor-oriented approaches when aiming to explain the occurrence of workplace bullying. Paper 3 reports on data from a longitudinal two-wave sample of the sample constituting the sample for Paper 1 and Paper 2. Although an increasing amount of crosssectional studies have shown perceived job characteristics to be related to exposure to workplace bullying, no studies have so far investigated the causal direction of this relationship by means of longitudinal data. The aim of Paper 3 was to investigate causal relationships according to a proposed individual level model, in which perceived role stress is regarded as antecedents of exposure to workplace bullying (Bowling & Beehr, 2006). However, contrary to hypothesised causal relationships and interpretations of prior crosssectional findings on perceived role stress as antecedents of exposure to workplace bullying, the findings failed to identify any significant relationships in support of such an explanation. Rather, exposure to workplace bullying accounted for subsequent variation in role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload, alike. The findings of Paper 3 question the usefulness of regarding factors such as perceived role stress as antecedent conditions of exposure to workplace bullying at an individual level of analysis. Paper 4 reports on data from a large cross-sectional sample of employees nested within departments. The aim of Paper 4 was to investigate group-level environmental characteristics as predictors of workplace bullying. In line with the work environment hypothesis (Leymann, 1996), the predictive effects of role conflict, role ambiguity and nonsupportive leadership practises were investigated applying group-level and multilevel analysis. The findings show the presence of role conflict and non-supportive leadership practises to predict the overall level of bullying within departments, and further, that being exposed to such environmental characteristics are associated with an increased likelihood of being exposed to bullying. The findings from Paper 4 highlight the importance of taking into account work-group characteristics in explaining bullying, and point attention towards areas in which preventive measures against bullying may be successfully implemented. In conclusion, the findings of this thesis render general support to Leymann’s (1996) work environment hypothesis in that prevailing organisational conditions to a large extent may account for the overall incidence of workplace bullying, influencing on the prevalence of both perpetrators and targets of bullying within organisations. Leadership practises, interpersonal conflicts, and role conflict appear to be decisive factors in this process. At the same time, the present findings highlight challenges in investigating factors that may contribute to the development of bullying at workplaces. The overall findings question the general assumption that individual level perceptions of environmental factors may be regarded as actual antecedents of exposure to workplace bullying. On the other hand, such individual level perceptions may account for why individuals engage in bullying of others, thereby indirectly influencing also on exposure to workplace bullying. Thus, a sound and thorough integration of actor-oriented and target-oriented approaches in relation to workplace bullying is likely to bring valuable knowledge to the field in attempting to bring an end to the problem. Future research aimed at explaining why bullying occurs at workplaces is also likely to benefit from adopting multilevel approaches by simultaneously investigating both individual-level and higher-order factors in relation to workplace bullying. Being able to establish such relationships in relation to workplace bullying will undoubtedly bring about valuable knowledge in terms of counteracting the problem, but will also yield valuable knowledge to researchers in terms of developing sound and explicit theoretical frameworks that can be rightfully empirically tested.

In order to stay vital and competitive in a changing labour market, organizations engage in various adaptive strategies such as downsizing and mergers. Adaptation strategies may vary but they all have one ting in common; they expose the workforce to feelings of uncertainty and job insecurity. The aim of the thesis was to investigate the relationships between job insecurity and job satisfaction, subjective health complaints, and organizational attitudes. The definition of job insecurity used in this thesis rests on two fundaments. Job insecurity is seen as a subjective experience and it is an involuntary event. 186 employees from three different companies in the steel industry in Norway undergoing downsizing and organizational change participated in the study. A response rate of 49.6 percent was achieved. The results showed that job insecurity was negatively related to job satisfaction and organizational attitudes, and positively related to subjective health complaints. The relations were stronger for the attitudinal consequences, job satisfaction and organizational attitudes, than for health complaints. Results also revealed that work control, gender, and leader responsibility were significantly related to the level of job insecurity the employees experienced. Results from regression analysis showed that coping and social support moderated some of the relations between job insecurity and the outcomes examined. The findings indicated that coping and social support can reduce the negative consequences of job dissatisfaction and non-compliant job behaviours when employees' job security is at stake. Employees who participate in and have an influence over the change processes are expected to experience fewer negative consequences of job insecurity than employees who do not participate. Organisasjonar undergår ulike tilpassingsstrategiar slik som nedskjeringar og samanslåingar for å kunne halde seg vitale og konkurransedyktige i ein stadig skiftande arbeidsmarknad. Tilpassingsstrategiar kan variere men dei har alle ein ting felles; dei utset arbeidsstyrken for kjensler av uvisse og jobbusikkerheit. Målet med undersøkinga var å sjå på samanhengar mellom jobbusikkerheit og jobbtilfredsheit, subjektive helseplager og holdningar til organisasjonen. Definisjonen av jobbusikkerheit brukt i denne oppgåva bygger på to fundament; det er ei subjektiv erfaring og det er ei ufrivillig hending. 186 arbeidstakarar frå 3 ulike bedrifter innan metallindustrien i Noreg som undergår nedskjeringar og organisatoriske endringar, deltok i studien. Ein svarprosent på 49.6 prosent vart oppnådd. Resultata viser at jobbusikkerheit er negativt relatert til jobbtilfredsheit og holdningar til organisasjonen, og positivt relatert til subjektive helseplager. Relasjonane er sterkare for holdningskonsekvensane, jobbtilfredsheit og holdningar til organisasjonen, enn for helseplager. Resultata viser også at kontroll i arbeidet, kjønn og leiaransvar bidreg signifikant til nivået av jobbusikkerheit arbeidstakarar opplever. Regresjonsanalyser viser at meistring og sosial støtte modererer nokre av samanhengane mellom jobbusikkerheit og dei undersøkte konsekvensane. Resultata indikerer at meistring og sosial støtte kan redusere negative konsekvensar av mistrivsel på jobben og negative holdningar og åtferd når arbeidstakarar sin tryggleik i forhold til arbeidet står på spel. Arbeidstakarar som er deltek i og har innverknad over endringsprosessane er venta å oppleve færre negative konsekvensar av jobbusikkerheit enn arbeidstakarar som ikkje deltek.

Objective Child-related stress following the birth of a child with special health care needs (SHCN) can take a toll on parental health. This study examined how the risk of sick leave due to psychiatric disorders (PD) among mothers of children with SHCN compares with that of mothers of children without SHCN during early motherhood. Methods Responses from 58,532 mothers participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study were linked to national registries and monitored for physician-certified sick leave from the month of their child’s first birthday until the month of their child’s fourth birthday. Results As compared with mothers of children without SHCN, mothers of children with mild and moderate/severe care needs were at substantial risk of a long-term sick leave due to PD in general and due to depression more specifically. Conclusions Extensive childhood care needs are strongly associated with impaired mental health in maternal caregivers during early motherhood. publishedVersion