Research in Nursing & Health, 2011, 34, 132–140 A New, Four-Item Instrument to Measure Workplace Bullying Shellie R. Simons, 1 * Roland B. Stark, 2 ** Rosanna F. DeMarco 3y 1 University of Massachusetts at Lowell, 3 Solomont Way, Suite 2, Lowell, MA 01854-5126 2 Integrative Statistics, Maynard, MA 3 Boston College, Connell School of Nursing, Chestnut Hill, MA Accepted 23 November 2010 Abstract: Studies on workplace bullying either in the U.S. or internationally rarely include nurses. We tested the concurrent validity of the Negative Acts Questionnaire—Revised (22 items) with a sample of nurses. Five hundred eleven registered nurses (RNs) responded to a mailed survey. Factor, reliability, and regression analyses tested dimensionality, reliability, and construct and criterion validity. Workplace bullying is best seen as a one- dimensional construct. A subset of four items was found to be both valid and reliable in measuring bullying in this sample. Findings support the use of a one-dimensional, four-item questionnaire to measure perceived bullying in nursing populations. Using a four-item questionnaire decreases participant and researcher burden and makes available an outcome measure for future descriptive and predictive interventional research. ß 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 34:132–140, 2011 Keywords: exploratory factor analysis; instrument development; nursing; principal component analysis; workplace bullying There is a dearth of empirical research that examines bullying behavior among nurses in the United States. The ability to measure and test hypotheses related to bullying behaviors experi- enced by nurses requires a valid and reliable measure of bullying that is sensitive to nurse experiences. Einarsen and Hoel (2001) developed the Negative Acts Questionnaire—Revised (NAQ- R), a 22-item instrument, to measure perceived exposure to bullying in the workplace. The NAQ- R has drawn mixed evidence as to reliability and validity; moreover, it has been tested primarily among European, non-nursing samples. The pur- pose of this study was to replicate dimensions previously found using the NAQ-R and to use data reduction, reliability, and regression analysis to assess dimensionality and to determine the most effective and efficient measurement tool for use with a United States nursing population. BACKGROUND Over the last decade, researchers have under- scored the contribution of a healthy work This work was supported by grants from Sigma Theta Tau, Theta at Large, and Theta Alpha. The authors thank Dr. Angela Nannini for her help and support. Contract grant sponsor: Sigma Theta Tau. Contract grant sponsor: Theta at Large. Contract grant sponsor: Theta Alpha. Correspondence to Shellie Simons *Assistant Professor. **Statistician and Research Consultant. z Associate Professor. Published online 18 January 2011 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/nur.20422 ß 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.