Seeing the forest through different trees: A social psychological perspective of work addiction

Work addiction and personality organization: Results from a representative, three-wave longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Several studies have explored the relationship between personality and work addiction, suggesting that individuals with certain mental disorders, including personality disorders such as obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), may be more prone to work addiction. However, the characterization of personality organization (PO) among workaholics and its contribution to the persistence of work addiction remains unclear.

METHODS

In this longitudinal study of a representative sample of young adults (N = 1748), we applied the Bergen Work Addiction Scale and the Inventory of Personality Organization.

RESULTS

We found significant correlations between work addiction and identity diffusion, primitive psychological defenses, reality testing, and overall personality disorganization across three waves. A latent class growth analysis revealed three profiles: no work addiction, increasing work addiction, and constant moderate work addiction. Multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that higher levels of personality disorganization in wave 1 and increases in personality disorganization between waves 1 and 3 were associated with higher odds of belonging to the increasing work addiction group. Similarly, higher overall personality disorganization in wave 1 was associated with higher odds of belonging to the constant moderate work addiction group.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that individuals with chronic work addiction have lower levels of PO, and PO declines as work addiction persists. Screenings for work addiction are recommended to prevent potential mental health issues. Future research should explore the influence of workplace characteristics and work motivations on the association between work addiction and personality disorders.

Contradicting classification, nomenclature, and diagnostic criteria of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) and future directions •

Building on the conclusions of the debate papers by Gola et al. (2022) and Sassover and Weinstein (2022), the present commentary further addressed the contradictions between the current classification, nomenclature, and diagnostic criteria of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) with elaborating on the potential roles impulsivity and compulsivity may play in CSBD, and how these characteristics may relate to addictive behaviors in particular. Moreover, it briefly discussed how the classification of CSBD might impact research and clinical practice and proposed potential future research directions that may help to reach a consensus on the classification and core symptoms of CSBD.

Work Addiction and Work Engagement: a Network Approach to Cross-Cultural Data

This study aimed to investigate direct relationships of work addiction symptoms with dimensions of work engagement. We used three samples in which work addiction was measured with the Bergen Work Addiction Scale and work engagement was measured with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. One sample comprised responses from working Norwegians (n1 = 776), and two samples comprised responses from working Poles (n2 = 719; n3 = 715). We jointly estimated three networks using the fused graphic lasso method. Additionally, we estimated the stability of each network, node centrality, and node predictability and quantitatively compared all networks. The results showed that absorption and mood modification could constitute a bridge between work addiction and work engagement. It suggests that further investigation of properties of absorption and mood modification might be crucial for answering the question of how engaged workers become addicted to work.

International Sex Survey: Study protocol of a large, cross-cultural collaborative study in 45 countries

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Limitations of research into sexuality and compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) include the use of simplistic methodological designs and the absence of quality and unified measurements, empirically supported theoretical models, and large, collaborative studies between laboratories. We aim to fill these gaps with the International Sex Survey (ISS, http://internationalsexsurvey.org/).

METHODS

The ISS is a large-scale, international, multi-lab, multi-language study using cross-sectional survey methods, involving more than 40 countries. Participants responding to advertisements complete a self-report, anonymous survey on a secure online platform. Collaborators from each country collect a community sample of adults with a minimum sample size of 2,000 participants with a gender ratio of approximately 50-50% men and women, including diverse individuals with respect to sexuality and gender. The ISS includes a wide range of sociodemographic questions and scales assessing a diverse set of sexual behaviors, pornography use, psychological characteristics, and potential comorbid disorders. Analyses are conducted within a structural equation modeling framework, including variable (e.g., measurement invariance tests) and person-centered approaches (e.g., latent profile analysis).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The ISS will provide well-validated, publicly available screening tools, helping to eliminate significant measurement issues in the field of sexuality research and health care. It will provide important insights to improve the theoretical understanding of CSBD as well as help to identify empirically supported treatment targets for prevention and intervention programs. Following open-science practices and making study materials open-access, the ISS may serve as a blueprint for future large-scale research in addiction and sexuality research.

Work addiction and personality: A meta-analytic study

BACKGROUND

During the past three decades, research interest in work addiction has increased significantly. Most definitions concerning work addiction have specifically contained personality-related elements. However, the results of empirical studies concerning personality and work addiction are both few and mixed. The aim of the present study was to explore the role of personality in the background of work addiction.

METHODS

The present study systematically reviewed and empirically carried out a meta-analysis on all the published studies examining the association between personality variables and work addiction (n = 28).

RESULTS

The results of the meta-analysis indicated that perfectionism, global and performance-based self-esteem, and negative affect had the strongest and most robust associations as personality risk factors of work addiction. Among the Big Five traits, extraversion, conscientiousness, and intellect/imaginations showed positive relationships with work addiction. However, these associations were weak.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the meta-analysis, personality appears to explain only a small amount of the variance of work addiction and further studies are needed to assess the interaction between individual and environmental factors.

Maladaptive Rumination Mediates the Relationship between Self-Esteem, Perfectionism, and Work Addiction: A Largescale Survey Study

Background: Empirical evidence suggests that low self-esteem and high perfectionism are significant personality correlates of work addiction, but the mechanisms underlying these relationships are still unclear. Consequently, exploring cognitive mechanisms will help to better understand work addiction. For instance, rumination is one of the under-researched topics in work addiction, although it may explain specific thinking processes of work-addicted individuals. The purpose of the study was to test the mediating role of maladaptive rumination (i.e., brooding) in the relationship between personality and addiction. Methods: In a largescale cross-sectional, unrepresentative, online study, 4340 adults with a current job participated. The following psychometric instruments were used: Work Addiction Risk Test Revised, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, and Ruminative Response Scale. Results: It was found that self-oriented perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism, and self-esteem had both direct and indirect relationships with work addiction via the mediating effect of maladaptive rumination. The two paths involving brooding explained 44% of the direct relationship. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that brooding type of rumination as a putatively maladaptive strategy explains why individuals characterized by low self-esteem and high perfectionism may have a higher risk of work addiction. The results suggest that cognitive-affective mechanisms in work addiction are similar to those found in other addictive disorders.

High-Frequency Pornography Use May Not Always Be Problematic

BACKGROUND

Previously, variable-centered analytic approaches showed positive, weak-to-moderate associations between frequency of pornography use (FPU) and problematic pornography use (PPU). However, person-centered studies are sparse in the literature, and these could provide insight into whether there are individuals who use pornography frequently and do not experience problems or whether there are individuals with comparable high-frequency use who differ on reported experiencing of negative consequences.

AIM

The aims of the present study were (i) to identify profiles of pornography use based on FPU and PPU by applying a person-centered analytic approach and (ii) to examine whether the identified profiles could be distinguished based on theoretically relevant demographic and psychological constructs.

METHODS

Latent profile analyses were conducted on 3 nonclinical samples recruited from general websites and a pornography site (study 1: N = 14,006; study 2: N = 483; study 3: N = 672).

RESULTS

Results were consistent across all studies. 3 distinct pornography-use profiles emerged: nonproblematic low-frequency pornography use (68-73% of individuals), nonproblematic high-frequency pornography use (19-29% of individuals), and problematic high-frequency use (3-8% of individuals). Nonproblematic and problematic high-frequency-use groups showed differences in several constructs (ie, hypersexuality, depressive symptoms, boredom susceptibility, self-esteem, uncomfortable feelings regarding pornography, and basic psychological needs).

CLINICAL TRANSLATION

FPU should not be considered as a sufficient or reliable indicator of PPU because the number of people with nonproblematic high-frequency use was 3-6 times higher than that with problematic high-frequency use. These results suggest that individuals with PPU use pornography frequently; however, FPU may not always be problematic.

STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS

Self-report cross-sectional methods have possible biases that should be considered when interpreting findings (eg, underreporting or overreporting). However, the present research included 3 studies and involved large community samples and visitors of a pornography website. The present study is the first that empirically investigated pornography-use profiles with a wide range of correlates using both severity of PPU and FPU as profile indicators on specific and general samples.

CONCLUSION

The present study is a first step in the differentiated examination of pornography-use profiles, taking into consideration both PPU and FPU, and it provides a foundation for further clinical and large-scale studies. Different psychological mechanisms may underlie the development and maintenance of FPU with or without PPU, suggesting different treatment approaches. Therefore, the present results may guide clinical work when considering reasons for seeking treatment for PPU. Bőthe B, Tóth-Király I, Potenza MN, et al. High-Frequency Pornography Use May Not Always Be Problematic. J Sex Med 2020;17:793-811.

Work Addiction, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, Burn-Out, and Global Burden of Disease: Implications from the ICD-11

Occupational stress and high workload are being increasingly recognized as significant contributors to the diseases and disorders constituting major components of the global burden of disease. A more detailed definition of burn-out was recently included by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) which reflects a growing acknowledgment of the role of professional work in mental health. One of the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder/anankastic personality disorder (OCPD/APD) is an undue preoccupation with productivity to the exclusion of pleasure and interpersonal relationships. This compulsive overworking is closely related to the concept of work addiction, and OCPD/APD was suggested to be its major risk factor. OCPD/APD is the most prevalent personality disorder and one that appears to produce the highest direct and indirect medical costs. At the same time, it is vastly understudied. In recent years, it has been repeatedly emphasized that it requires consistent conceptualization and clarification of its overlapping with similar conditions. Even though the limited existing studies suggest its strong relationship with burn-out and depression among employed individuals, there has been no systematic effort to investigate its role in the consequences of occupational stress and high workload. This paper identifies several substantial gaps in the current understanding of the relationships between work addiction, OCPD/APD, burn-out, and the global burden of disease within the context of the WHO's plan of developing evidence-based guidelines on mental wellbeing in the workplace.

Beyond the myths about work addiction: Toward a consensus on definition and trajectories for future studies on problematic overworking

In an unprecedented collaborative effort to integrate the existing knowledge on work addiction and delineate trajectories for future studies, several papers from work addiction researchers (including some of the most prolific experts in the field) have contributed to the debate on the misconceptions/myths about this problematic behavior. On the basis of the overview of the presented arguments, the most commonly proposed recommendations were that there should be: (a) a general definition of work addiction, (b) the need for more transdisciplinary and integrative approach to research, and (c) propositions regarding more high-quality research. These three aspects are summarized in the present paper. There is a general agreement among work addiction researchers that work addiction is a problematic behavior that merits more systematic studies, which require input and expertise from a wide range of fields due to its complex nature.