When Distress Hits Home: The Role of Contextual Factors and Psychological Distress in Predicting Employees' Responses to Abusive Supervision

• Published in: Journal of applied psychology 2011-07, Vol.96 (4), p.713-729
• Main Authors: Restubog, Simon Lloyd D., Scott, Kristin L., Zagenczyk, Thomas J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological - physiology; Adult; Affect - physiology; Aggression; Aggression - psychology; Aggressive Behavior; Aggressiveness; Antisocial Behavior; Business Administration Education; Context Effect; Correlation; Deviance; Distress; Emotional disorders; Emotional Disturbances; Employees; Employment - organization & administration; Employment - psychology; Factor Analysis; Family Conflict - psychology; Family Relationship; Family Work Relationship; Female; Food Service; Foreign Countries; Gender; Gender Differences; Graduate Students; Help Seeking; Hospitality; Human; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Management Methods; Management Personnel; Masters Programs; Mental stress; Models, Statistical; Occupational psychology; Occupations; Organizational Climate; Organizational Culture; Part Time Students; Personnel Management - standards; Philippines; Prediction; Psychological distress; Psychological Stress; Role; Social Behavior; Social norms; Spouses; Spouses - psychology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Studies; Supervision; Supervisor Supervisee Relationship; Supervisor-Subordinate interactions; Supervisors; Working conditions
• ISSN: 0021-9010; 1939-1854
• DOI: 10.1037/a0021593

We developed a model of the relationships among aggressive norms, abusive supervision, psychological distress, family undermining, and supervisor-directed deviance. We tested the model in 2 studies using multisource data: a 3-wave investigation of 184 full-time employees (Study 1) and a 2-wave investigation of 188 restaurant workers (Study 2). Results revealed that (a) abusive supervision mediated the relationship between aggressive norms and psychological distress, (b) psychological distress mediated the effects of abusive supervision on spouse undermining, (c) abusive supervision had a direct positive relationship with supervisor-directed deviance, (d) the positive relationship between psychological distress and spouse undermining was stronger for men as opposed to women, and (e) employees engaged in relationship-oriented occupations reported greater levels of abusive supervision and psychological distress. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.