The Psychological and Behavioural Correlates of Workplace Victimization

Background: Workplace victimization is a form of repeated and systematic psychological violence that can severely affect both mental and physical health. From a psychological perspective, it impacts mood states, defense mechanisms, and personality functioning. Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated the psychological and behavioural correlates of workplace victimization in a sample of 33 workers from various professional sectors, using a multidimensional assessment including standardized measures of personality traits, mood states, and defense mechanisms. Results: The MMPI-2 profile revealed elevated scores in Hypochondriasis (Hs: 72.00), Depression (D: 70.21), Hysteria (Hy: 67.61), and Paranoia (Pa: 68.76), indicating somatic symptoms, depressive features, and suspiciousness. The POMS showed increased Tension–Anxiety (T: 65.06), Depression–Dejection (D: 68.21), Anger–Hostility (A: 68.15), and Fatigue–Inertia (F: 65.24), alongside reduced Vigor–Activity (V: 43.18). The DMI analysis highlighted a high Reversal score (REV: 65.91), suggesting a predominant use of defense mechanisms such as altruism and idealization to cope with distress. Conclusions: In this selected sample of adults referred for psychological evaluation for suspected or documented workplace victimization, participants showed a clinically relevant psychological burden, including depressive symptoms, somatic concerns, Anger–Hostility, fatigue, reduced vigor, and specific defensive patterns. Given the cross-sectional design, small sample size, and absence of a control group, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary and cannot establish causality or the specificity of this profile to workplace victimization.