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Heinz Leymann (17 July 1932 – 26 January 1999) was a Swedish academic, famous for his studies on
mobbing Mobbing, as a sociological term, refers either to bullying in any context, or specifically to that within the workplace, especially when perpetrated by a group rather than an individual. Psychological and health effects Victims of workplace mo ...
among humans. He held a degree in pedagogical psychology, and another one in
psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...
and worked as a psychologist. He was a professor at
Umeå University Umeå University (; Ume Sami language, Ume Sami: ) is a public university, public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present bord ...
.


Academic background

Born in 1932 in
Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, Leymann, became a Swedish citizen in the mid-1950s, and was awarded his
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in pedagogical psychology from
Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...
in 1978. He then went on to get another research doctorate (''doktor i medicinsk vetenskap'', "doctor of medical science," typically translated into English as PhD) in psychiatry in 1990 from
Umeå University Umeå University (; Ume Sami language, Ume Sami: ) is a public university, public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present bord ...
. Somewhat unusually, his doctorate in psychiatry was based on his clinical background as a psychologist; he did not go through medical training.


Leymann's work on mobbing

Leymann pioneered research into
mobbing Mobbing, as a sociological term, refers either to bullying in any context, or specifically to that within the workplace, especially when perpetrated by a group rather than an individual. Psychological and health effects Victims of workplace mo ...
in the 1980s. His initial research in the area was based on detailed case studies of a number of nurses who had committed or tried to commit
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
due to events at the workplace. He developed the Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terror (LIPT), a questionnaire of 45 mobbing actions. Although he preferred the term
bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
in the context of school children, some have come to regard mobbing as a form of group bullying. As professor and practicing psychologist, Leymann also noted one of the side-effects of mobbing is
post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...
and is frequently misdiagnosed. Among researchers who have built on Leymann's work are: * Davenport, Schwartz & ElliottDavenport NZ, Schwartz RD & Elliott G
Mobbing, Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace
3rd Edition 2005, Civil Society Publishing. Ames, IA,
* Hecker * Shallcross, Ramsay & Barker * Westhues * Zapf & EinarsenZapf D & Einarsen S 2005 "Mobbing at Work: Escalated Conflicts in Organizations."
Counterproductive Work Behavior Counterproductive work behavior (CWB) is employee's behavior that goes against the legitimate interests of an organization. This behavior can harm the organization, other people within it, and other people an ...
: Investigations of Actors and Targets. Fox, Suzy & Spector, Paul E. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
vii. p.


See also

* Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terror *
Workplace bullying Workplace bullying is a persistent pattern of mistreatment from others in the workplace that causes physical and/or emotional harm. It includes verbal, nonverbal Nonverbal communication is the transmission of messages or signals through a non ...


References

Duffy, M., & Sperry, L. (2012). ''Mobbing: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions''. New York: Oxford University Press.


External links


The Mobbing Encyclopaedia
Website concerning Leymann's work on mobbing.

Website dedicated to the research of Dr. Heinz Leymann. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leymann, Heinz Academics and writers on bullying Workplace harassment and bullying 1932 births 1999 deaths Swedish psychologists Swedish psychiatrists Swedish people of German descent Stockholm University alumni Umeå University alumni Academic staff of Umeå University 20th-century psychologists