The relationships between workaholism and symptoms of psychiatric disorders: a large-scale cross-sectional study

Nishi, D., Andreassen, C.S., Griffiths, M.D. ORCID: 0000-0001-8880-6524, Sinha, R., Hetland, J. and Pallesen, S., 2016. The relationships between workaholism and symptoms of psychiatric disorders: a large-scale cross-sectional study. PLOS ONE, 11 (5), e0152978. ISSN 1932-6203

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Abstract

Despite the many number of studies examining workaholism, large-scale studies have been lacking. The present study utilized an open web-based cross-sectional survey assessing symptoms of psychiatric disorders and workaholism among 16,426 workers (Mage = 37.3 years, SD = 11.4, range = 16–75 years). Participants were administered the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, the Obsession-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Bergen Work Addiction Scale, along with additional questions examining demographic and work-related variables. Correlations between workaholism and all psychiatric disorder symptoms were positive and significant. Workaholism comprised the dependent variable in a three-step linear multiple hierarchical regression analysis. Basic demographics (age, gender, relationship status, and education) explained 1.2% of the variance in workaholism, whereas work demographics (work status, position, sector, and annual income) explained an additional 5.4% of the variance. Age (inversely) and managerial positions (positively) were of most importance. The psychiatric symptoms (ADHD, OCD, anxiety, and depression) explained 17.0% of the variance. ADHD and anxiety contributed considerably. The prevalence rate of workaholism status was 7.8% of the present sample. In an adjusted logistic regression analysis, all psychiatric symptoms were positively associated with being a workaholic. The independent variables explained between 6.1% and 14.4% in total of the variance in workaholism cases. Although most effect sizes were relatively small, the study’s findings expand our understanding of possible psychiatric predictors of workaholism, and particularly shed new insight into the reality of adult ADHD in work life. The study’s implications, strengths, and shortcomings are also discussed.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: PLOS ONE
Creators: Nishi, D., Andreassen, C.S., Griffiths, M.D., Sinha, R., Hetland, J. and Pallesen, S.
Publisher: Public Library of Science
Date: 18 May 2016
Volume: 11
Number: 5
ISSN: 1932-6203
Identifiers:
NumberType
10.1371/journal.pone.0152978DOI
Divisions: Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by: Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added: 24 May 2016 07:53
Last Modified: 19 Oct 2017 09:27
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27864

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