Table 3

Responses to and impacts of clinical violence, and the differences for those with either physical violence, verbal abuse or both (N=379)

Responses after the clinical violencePhysical violence onlyVerbal abuse onlyStudents experienced both physical violence and verbal abuse
Physical violenceVerbalWilcoxon signed-ranks test
n (%)n (%)n (%)n (%)P value (χ2; df)
Responses to the incidentN=68N=204N=99N=100
 Took no action21 (69.1)108 (52.9)28 (28.3)60 (60.0)<0.001 (27.46; 1)
 Tried to pretend it never happened3 (4.4)53 (26.0)12 (12.1)19 (19.0)0.11 (2.58; 1)
 Told the person to stop22 (32.8)29 (14.2)54 (54.5)28 (28.0)<0.001 (19.88; 1)
 Told friends/family11 (16.2)51 (25.0)14 (14.1)28 (28.0)0.006 (7.54; 1)
 Tried to defend myself physically18 (26.5)14 (6.9)26 (26.3)16 (16.0)0.03 (4.55; 1)
 Sought counselling2 (2.9)11 (5.4)1 (1.0)0 (0.0)0.32 (1.00; 1)
 Reported incident to a senior staff member24 (35.3)24 (11.8)24 (24.2)12 (12.0)0.01 (6.00; 1)
 Sought help from University2 (2.9)5 (2.5)1 (1.0)0 (0.0)0.32 (1.00; 1)
 Completed incident/accident form3 (4.4)0 (0.0)1 (1.0)0 (0.0)0.32 (1.00; 1)
Took time offN=68N=203N=98N=100
 No69 (100.0)183 (90.1)98 (100.0)96 (96.0)0.046 (4.00; 1)
 Yes0 (0.0)20 (9.9)0 (0.0)4 (4.0)
Incident could be preventedN=66N=204N=96N=100
 No35 (53.0)138 (67.6)58 (60.4)87 (87.0)<0.001 (18.78; 1)
 Yes31 (47.0)66 (32.4)38 (39.6)13 (13.0)
Formally reported the incidentN=67N=209N=98N=95
 No61 (91.0)198 (94.7)94 (95.9)88 (92.6)0.18 (1.80; 1)
 Yes6 (0.0)11 (5.3)4 (4.0)7 (7.4)
Reasons for not formally reportingN=57N=187N=91N=83
 It was not important43 (75.4)104 (55.6)58 (63.7)54 (65.1)0.51 (0.43; 1)
 Felt ashamed3 (5.3)3 (1.6)4 (4.4)3 (3.6)0.71 (0.14; 1)
 Felt guilty1 (1.8)3 (1.6)2 (2.2)2 (2.4)1.00 (<0.001; 1)
 Useless11 (19.3)87 (46.5)37 (40.7)37 (44.6)0.29 (1.14; 1)
 Afraid of negative consequences2 (3.5)26 (13.9)3 (3.3)7 (8.4)0.10 (2.78; 1)
 Did not know who to report6 (10.5)31 (16.6)12 (13.2)8 (9.6)0.56 (0.33; 1)
 No one encourages me to report9 (15.8)29 (15.5)7 (7.7)6 (7.2)0.25 (1.33; 1)
Effect of the clinical violenceMean±SD (range)Mean±SD (range)Mean±SD (range)Mean±SD (range)Pair t-test, p value (t; df)
Negative feeling (average score of 10 items ranged from 1 to 5)N=65N=209N=100N=100
1.49±0.50 (1–3)2.04±0.89 (1–5)1.59±0.63 (0–4)1.81±0.88 (1–4)0.006 (–2.81; 99)
Negative effects on clinical performance (average score of 4 items ranged from 1 to 5)N=65N=210N=100N=100
1.34±0.50 (1–3)1.94±1.00 (1–5)1.39±0.64 (1–3.75)1.65±0.97 (1–5)0.008 (–2.70; 99)
Disturbed by the incident(s) (average score of 4 items ranged from 1 to 5)N=65N=209N=100N=100
1.38±0.51 (1–3)1.95±0.99 (1–5)1.42±0.62 (1–4.25)1.61±0.85 (1–4.5)0.02 (–2.39; 99)
Intention to leave before the violenceN=66N=210N=100N=100
1.48±0.75 (1–4)1.68±0.55 (1–5)1.47±0.69 (1–3)1.61±0.85 (1–5)
Intention to leave after the violenceN=66N=210N=100N=100
1.73±0.90 (1–4)2.18±1.19 (1–5)1.69±0.96 (1–5)1.99±1.20 (1–5)
Pair t-test, p value (t; df)Pair t-test, p value (t; df)
Difference between intention to leave before and after the violence (before–after)<0.001 (−4.23, 65)<0.001 (−8.65, 209)<0.001 (−4.36; 99)<0.001 (−4.98; 99)
  • 0%–0.05% of missing data.