Workplace Bullying and Psychological Distress: Gender and Race Differences in the Stress Process.

A large body of empirical research documents the adverse mental health consequences of workplace bullying. However, less is known about the moderating and mediating relationships that exist between workplace bullying and adverse mental health outcomes. In the current study, we use structural equation modeling of survey data from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study (N=2,292) and draw on stress process theory to examine (1) perceived job stressors as a mediator between workplace bullying and psychological distress, (2) coworker support as a buffering mechanism against workplace bullying, and (3) gender and race differences in the relationships between bullying and psychological distress. The results of the analysis indicate that perceived job stressors mediate the relationships between bullying and psychological distress, coworker support serves as a protective buffer against workplace bullying, and the effects of workplace bullying more heavily impact women and persons of color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]