Supplementary Material for: Experiencing Workplace Bullying in Patients with Alopecia Areata: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Introduction: Alopecia areata (AA) is an immune-mediated hair loss condition with substantial psychosocial impact. The impact of AA on social interactions at work has not been established. Methods: We administered the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised scale to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation database to evaluate workplace bullying in patients with AA. Results: Ultimately, 673/1120 individuals who met inclusion criteria completed the survey. Most respondents were female (n=537, 79.8%), Caucasian (n=508, 75.5%), an average age of 46.8 ± 14, and employed full-time (n=427, 63.4%). Our results demonstrate 21.67% (n=146) of respondents experienced workplace bullying. Participants most frequently faced having their opinions ignored (53.8%, n=362), being excluded (47.7%, n=321), and had gossip spread about them (44.0%, n=296). Notably, 75.0% (n=120/160) of individuals who self-reported bullying addressed the behavior, however 30.8% of participants noted the bully continued (30.8%, n=37). Stress associated with filing a complaint (43.5%, n=293) and effect on future career options (36.1%, n=243) were common barriers to report bullying. Conclusion: This study expands our understanding of the psychosocial impact of AA by confirming individuals with AA experience workplace bullying. Stigma against patients may play a role in this phenomenon. Future work is warranted to identify strategies to reduce bullying against patients with AA.