Dangers on the road: A longitudinal examination of passenger‐initiated violence against bus drivers

This study examined the impact of workplace violence against 109 bus drivers over a 1‐year span. Workplace violence is related to both psychological and work‐related consequences. Our findings showed that bus drivers experienced a wide range of violence at work and the psychological consequences were devastating: Half of the participants met the diagnostic criteria for acute stress disorder within the first month following the index event. Majority of them experienced at least moderate levels of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) problems over the 1‐year span. About 9.3% of participants showed a delayed onset of PTSD 6 months after. Furthermore, counter‐supportive behaviours and reexposure to violence played important roles in the maintenance of PTSD symptoms over time. Even though PTSD symptoms per se did not relate to bus driver's confidence in coping with aggressive passengers, the immediate post‐traumatic reaction—symptoms of acute stress disorder—showed a significant long‐term negative effect on bus drivers' confidence in dealing with aggressive passengers 12 months after. This study provided empirical evidence of the changing nature of PTSD symptoms over time among bus drivers.