Violence Prevention Climate Survey (VPCS)

Abstract

The Violence Prevention Climate Survey (VPCS) is a specialized psychological scale designed to measure employees’ perceptions of the organizational environment concerning the prevention and management of workplace violence and aggression. Developed initially by Kessler, Spector, Chang, and Parr (2008), the VPCS assesses the extent to which an organization prioritizes violence prevention through its policies, procedures, and managerial responses. The scale is based on the concept of organizational climate, specifically focusing on the shared perceptions of safety and administrative commitment to mitigating risks. It exists in two primary validated versions: an 18-item version and a shorter 12-item version.

Keywords

Violence Prevention Climate Survey, VPCS, Workplace Violence, Organizational Aggression, Safety Climate, Policies and Procedures, Organizational Response, Pressure for Unsafe Practices, Organizational Climate.

Authors

Stanley R. Kessler, Paul E. Spector, Chu-Hsiang Chang, Ashley D. Parr, Li-Qun Yang, Martha Gallant-Roman, Justin Powell.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the VPCS is to quantify the shared perception, or organizational climate, regarding the effectiveness and commitment of management and the organization as a whole toward preventing and responding to aggression and violence in the workplace. It provides insight into whether employees feel safe, whether procedures are clear, and whether reporting mechanisms are taken seriously.

The scale helps organizations identify specific areas of weakness, such as inadequate training or managerial reluctance to enforce safety standards, which can contribute to a permissive environment for violence. By measuring these dimensions, the VPCS serves as a diagnostic tool for improving organizational safety culture and reducing risk factors associated with workplace violence.

Construct

The VPCS measures the Violence Prevention Climate, which is conceptualized as a specific manifestation of organizational climate focused on safety and aggression management. This construct is multidimensional, reflecting how employees collectively interpret the importance placed on violence prevention through three core factors: Policies and Procedures, Practices and Response, and Pressure for Unsafe Practices.

A strong Violence Prevention Climate suggests that employees perceive management as highly committed to safety, actively enforcing policies, and providing necessary resources and training. Conversely, a weak climate indicates that employees feel procedures are ignored, responses are slow, or that production pressures supersede safety concerns.

Validity

The construct validity of the VPCS was established through its initial development phase (Kessler et al., 2008), which utilized factor analysis to confirm the distinct three-factor structure. The scale successfully differentiates between perceptions of formal organizational commitment (Policies) and the actual implementation and enforcement of those commitments (Practices and Response).

Further longitudinal studies, such as those focusing on healthcare settings (Yang et al., 2012), have supported the predictive validity of the VPCS, demonstrating its utility in forecasting psychosocial precursors and physical consequences related to violence exposure among employees.

Reliability

High internal consistency reliability has been demonstrated across the subscales of the VPCS in its various forms. For the 18-item version, the reported Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients are consistently strong, indicating excellent reliability for measuring the underlying constructs.

• Policies and Procedures: α = .95
• Practices and Response: α = .90
• Pressure for Unsafe Practices: α = .90

Factor Analysis

The VPCS utilizes a robust three-factor structure, confirmed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis during its development. These factors represent distinct facets of the organizational response to violence and aggression:

1. Policies and Procedures: Measures the perceived existence, detail, and clarity of formal violence prevention rules and guidelines. (Items 1-6 in 18-item VPCS; Items 1-4 in 12-item VPCS).
2. Practices and Response: Measures the actual implementation of policies, managerial responsiveness to incidents, and the provision of adequate training and resources. (Items 7-12 in 18-item VPCS; Items 5-8 in 12-item VPCS).
3. Pressure for Unsafe Practices: Measures the extent to which organizational pressures (e.g., resource shortages, tight deadlines) lead to the compromise or ignoring of established violence prevention standards. (Items 13-18 in 18-item VPCS; Items 9-12 in 12-item VPCS).

Note that items belonging to the Pressure for Unsafe Practices subscale are typically reverse-scored to align with the positive direction of the other two factors, where higher scores indicate a stronger, safer climate.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychological Scale; Organizational Assessment

Format: Self-report questionnaire using a 6-point Likert Scale.

Language Available: English (Primary validation language).

Population Group: Employees in various organizational settings, particularly those susceptible to workplace violence (e.g., healthcare, service industries).

Age Group: Adults (Working population).

Population Details: Originally validated primarily using samples of employees in high-risk environments, such as hospital nurses and general workers.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate their level of agreement with statements related to organizational management, policies, and unit practices concerning violence prevention, using the response anchors: Disagree very much, Disagree moderately, Disagree slightly, Agree slightly, Agree moderately, Agree very much.

Keywords

Organizational Safety, Organizational Climate Measurement, Aggression Prevention, Human Resources, Safety Management, Psychological Assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Not provided in source)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Not provided in source)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Not provided in source)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 2008 (Initial 18-item version development).

Permissions and Fee: Information regarding use conditions and availability is managed by the primary author, Paul E. Spector. The conditions for use are explicitly detailed online: http://paulspector.com/scales/our-assessments/conditions-for-using-these-assessments/. The scale materials themselves can be accessed at: http://paulspector.com/scales/our-assessments/. Researchers should consult these links for the most current information regarding non-commercial and commercial usage.

Reference’s

The development and validation of the VPCS are documented in the following key publications:

• Kessler, S. R., Spector, P. E., Chang, C.-H., & Parr, A. D. (2008). Organizational violence and aggression: Development of the three-factor Violence Climate Survey. Work & Stress, 22, 108-124.
• Yang, L. Q., Spector, P. E., Chang, C. H., Gallant-Roman, M., & Powell, J. (2012). Psychosocial precursors and physical consequences of workplace violence towards nurses: A longitudinal examination with naturally occurring groups in hospital settings. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 49, 1091-1102.

The instrument can also be found online at: http://shell.cas.usf.edu/b‎cppspector/scales/cwb‎cpage.html

Items of the Violence Prevention Climate Survey (VPCS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

VPCS 18-item version

To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

1. Management in this organization quickly responds to episodes of violence.
2. Management in this organization requires each manager to help reduce violence in his/her department.
3. Management encourages employees to report physical violence.
4. Management encourages employees to report verbal violence.
5. Reports of workplace violence from other employees are taken seriously by management
6. Abusive behavior is not tolerated at work.
7. My employer provides adequate assault/violence prevention training.
8. My employer provides adequate assault/violence prevention procedures.
9. In my unit‚ violence prevention procedures are detailed.
10. In my unit‚ employees are informed about potential violence hazards.
11. In my unit‚ there is training on violence prevention policies and procedures.
12. In my unit‚ information about violence prevention is distributed regularly.
13. In my unit‚ in order to get the work done‚ one must ignore some violence prevention policies.
14. In my unit‚ whenever pressure builds up‚ the preference is to do the job as fast as possible‚ even if that means compromising violence prevention.
15. In my unit‚ human resource shortage undermines violence prevention standards.
16. In my unit‚ violence prevention policies and procedures are ignored.
17. In my unit‚ violence prevention policies and procedures are nothing more than a cover-up for lawsuits.
18. In my unit‚ ignoring violence prevention procedures is acceptable.

VPCS 12-item version (Yang et al. 2012)

To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

1. Management in this organization quickly responds to episodes of violence.
2. Management encourages employees to report physical violence.
3. Management encourages employees to report verbal violence.
4. Reports of violence from other employees are taken seriously by management
5. My employer provides adequate assault/violence prevention training.
6. In my unit‚ violence prevention procedures are detailed.
7. In my unit‚ there is training on violence prevention policies and procedures.
8. In my unit‚ employees are informed about potential violence hazards
9. In my unit in order to get the work done‚ one must ignore some violence prevention policies.
10. In my unit‚ whenever pressure builds up‚ the preference is to do the job as fast as possible‚ even if that means compromising violence prevention.
11. In my unit‚ human resource shortage undermines violence prevention standards.
12. In my unit‚ violence prevention policies and procedures are ignored.

Response Scale: Disagree very much‚ Disagree moderately‚ Disagree slightly‚ Agree slightly‚ Agree moderately‚ Agree very much

Scoring Key:

• VPCS 18-item version: Policies and Procedures (Items 1-6)‚ Practices and Response (Items 7-12)‚ and Pressure for Unsafe Practices (Items 13-18, reverse scored).
• VPCS 12-item version: Policies and Procedures (Items 1-4)‚ Practices and Response (Items 5-8)‚ and Pressure for Unsafe Practices (Items 9-12, reverse scored).