Psychometric properties of the Portuguese Dutch Work Addiction Scale

A methodological study was conducted with 1,030 Portuguese nurses. A sociodemographic/professional questionnaire and the Dutch Work Addiction Scale applied between October and December 2019.

Results

The Confirmatory Factorial Analyses confirmed the factorial structure of two dimensions, namely Working Excessively (α = .730) and Working Compulsively (α = .752), grounded on the theoretical model of workaholism; the reliability values were considered adequate. Nurses presented a moderate level of workaholism, with a higher mean value for Working Excessively.

Conclusion

The results raised the issue of workaholism and highlighted the need for further study. The Portuguese version of the DUWAS presented good psychometric characteristics and can be considered a valid and useful instrument to identify this problem.

Work; Psychometrics; Nurses; Occupational Health; Mental Health

Instrument/dimensions	Items	Cronbach Alpha	Mean	SD*
Working Compulsively	3- It is important for me to work hard, even when I do not enjoy what I am doing	.752	2.05	.56
	5- I often feel there is something inside me that drives me to work hard
	7- I feel obliged to work hard, even when it is not enjoyable
	9- I feel guilty when I take time off work
	10- It is hard for me to relax when I am not working
Working Excessively	1- I seem to be in a hurry and racing against the clock	.730	2.64	.52
	2- I find myself still working after my co-workers have called it quits
	4- I stay busy and keep lots of irons in the fire
	6- I spend more time working than on socializing with friends, on hobbies or leisure activities
	8- I find myself doing two or three things at one time, such as eating lunch and writing a memo, while talking on the telephone
Workaholism		.818	2.35	.47

	CFI^*	RMR^†	RMSEA^‡	90% CI^§	P^\|\|
Initial model	.892	.038	.090	[.081, .099]	.0001
e3-e5	.920	.036	.079	[.070, .088]	.0001
e9-e5	.926	.034	.077	[.068, .087]	.0001
e9-e7	.932	.032	.075	[.066, .085]	.0001

Universidade de São Paulo, Escola de Enfermagem Av. Dr. Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar, 419 , 05403-000 São Paulo - SP/ Brasil, Tel./Fax: (55 11) 3061-7553, - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: reeusp@usp.br

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[1] Corresponding author: Elisabete Maria das Neves Borges Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 4200-072 Porto, Portugal elisabete@esenf.pt