The International Work Addiction Scale (IWAS): A screening tool for clinical and organizational applications validated in 85 cultures from six continents

CharzyńSka E. BuźNiak A. CzerwińSki S.K. Woropay-Hordziejewicz N. Schneider Z. Aavik T. Adamowic M. Adams B.G. Al-Mahjoob S.M. Almoshawah S.A.S. Arrowsmith J. Asatsa S. Austin S. Aziz S. Bakker A.B. Balducci C. Barros E. BăLțăTescu S. Bdier D. Bhatia N. Bilic S. Boer D. Caspi A. Chaleeraktrakoon T. Chan C.I.M. Chien C.-J. Choi H.-S. Choubisa R. Clark M. Čekrlija Ð. Demetrovics Z. Dervishi E. De Zoysa P. Del Carmen Domínguez Espinosa A. Dragova-Koleva S. Efstathiou V. Fernandez M.E. Fernet C. Gadelrab H.F. Gamsakhurdia V. Garoarsdóttir R.B. Garrido L.E. Gillet N. Gonçalves S.P. Griffiths M.D. Hakobyan N.R. Halim F.W. Hansenne M. Hasan B.B. Herttalampi M. Hlatywayo C.K. Hromatko I. Igou E.R. Iliško D. Isayeva U. Ismail H.N. Jensen D.H. Kakupa P. Kamble S. Kerriche A. Kubicek B. Kugbey N. Kun B. Lee J.H. Lisá E. Lisun Y. Lupano Perugini M.L. Marcatto F. Maslovarić B. Massoudi K. McFarlane T.A. Mgaiwa S.J. Moosavi Jahanabad S.T. Moreta-Herrera R. Nguyen H.T.M. Ohtsubo Y. Özsoy T. Øvergård K.I. Pallesen S. Parker J. Plohl N. Pontes H.M. Potter R. Roe A. Samekin A. Schulmeyer M.K. Seisembekov T.Z. Serrano-Fernández M.J. Shahrour G. Matić J.S. Sobhie R. Spagnoli P. Story J. Sullman M.J.M. Sultanova L. Sun R. Suryani A.O. Sussman S. Teng-Calleja M. Torales J. Vera Cruz G. Wu A.M.S. Yang X. Zabrodska K. Ziedelis A. Atroszko P.A.
28 March 2025 Akademiai Kiado ZRt.

Journal of Behavioral Addictions
2025 #14 Issue 1 220 - 245 pp.

Background and aims: Despite the last decade’s significant development in the scientific study of work addiction/workaholism, this area of research is still facing a fundamental challenge, namely the need for a valid and reliable measurement tool that shows cross-cultural invariance and, as such, allows for worldwide studies on this phenomenon. Methods: An initial 16-item questionnaire, developed within an addiction framework, was administered alongside job stress, job satisfaction, and self-esteem measures in a total sample of 31,352 employees from six continents and 85 cultures (63.5% females, mean age of 39.24 years). Results: Based on theoretical premises and psychometric testing, the International Work Addiction Scale (IWAS) was developed as a short measure representing essential features of work addiction. The seven-item version (IWAS-7), covering all seven components of work addiction, showed partial scalar invariance across 81 cultures, while the five-item version (IWAS-5) showed it across all 85 cultures. Higher levels of work addiction on both versions were associated with higher job stress, lower job satisfaction, and lower self-esteem across cultures. The optimal cut-offs for the IWAS-7 (24 points) and IWAS-5 (18 points) were established with an overall accuracy of 96% for both versions. Discussion and conclusions: The IWAS is a valid, reliable, and short screening scale that can be used in different cultures and languages, providing comparative and generalizable results. The scale can be used globally in clinical and organizational settings, with the IWAS-5 being recommended for most practical and clinical situations. This is the first study to provide data supporting the hypothesis that work addiction is a universal phenomenon worldwide.

Bergen Work Addiction Scale , compulsive overworking , cross-cultural , validation study , work addiction , workaholism

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Institute of Psychology, Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland
Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Department of Human Resource Management & Employment Relations, King’s Business School, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Department of Work, Organization, and Society, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Psychology Department, College of Arts, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Bahrain
Research Center, Medical Cities Program-MOI, Saudi Arabia
School of Management, College of Business, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
Department of Human Resources Management, Business School, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada
Department of Psychology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, United States
Center of Excellence for Positive Organizational Psychology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands
School of Management, Human Resource Management, University of Vaasa, Finland
Department of Psychology, University of Chieti-Pescara “G. d’Annunzio”, Chieti, Italy
School of Business, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania
Psychology and Counseling Department, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
Department of Business Administration, School of Management Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, India
Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, International Balkan University, Skopje, North Macedonia
Institute of Psychology, University of Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany
Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, Ra’anana, Israel
Faculty of Liberal Arts, Department of Psychology, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
Department of Management and Marketing, University of Macau, Macao
College of Management, Yuan Ze University, Taiwan
Department of Psychology, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, India
Department of Psychology, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Institute of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar
Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
Pedagogy and Psychology Department, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Psychology Department, Ibero-American University, Mexico City, Mexico
Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology, New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria
Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Department of Psychology, Universidad Católica del Uruguay (UCU), Montevideo, Uruguay
Department of Special Needs Education, Ghent University (UGENT), Ghent, Belgium
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
Department of Psychology, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
School of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
QualiPsy UR 1901, Université de Tours, Tours, France
Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, Universidade de Lisboa (ISCSP-ULisboa), Lisboa, Portugal
Centro de Administração e Políticas Públicas (CAPP), Lisboa, Portugal
International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
International Scientific-Educational Center, The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia
Research Centre for Psychology and Human Well-being, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
Department of Psychology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Wasit University, Al-Kut, Iraq
Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Department of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
Psychology Department, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan
Adnan Kassar School of Business – AACSB Accredited, Department of Management Studies, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon
Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
School of Education, The University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
Department of Psychology, Karnatak University Dharwad, Dharwad, India
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychometrics and Psychological Studies Laboratory, University of Blida 2, El Affroun, Algeria
Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya, Ghana
Department of Psychology, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, IN, United States
Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
Department of Journalism and Advertising, State University of Trade and Economics, Kyiv, Ukraine
National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Universidad de Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Faculty of Philosophy Nikšić, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro
Institute of Psychology of the University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Department of Sociology, Psychology & Social Work, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Faculty of Psychology and Education, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
School of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
Faculty of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU Hanoi), Hanoi, Viet Nam
Department of Social Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, Geyve Vocational School, Turkey
Department of Health, Social and Welfare Studies, University of South-Eastern Norway, Campus Vestfold, Borre, Norway
Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
School of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
Psychosocial Safety Climate Global Observatory, Centre for Workplace Excellence, Justice & Society, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Leeds University Business School, Leeds, United Kingdom
School of Liberal Arts, M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Universidad Privada de Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Department of Cardiology, Astana Medical University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
Faculty of Nursing, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
Faculty of Media and Communication, Singidunum University in Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Interfaculty for Graduate Studies and Research, Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname
Department of Psychology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
Sao Paulo School of Business Administration, FGV, São Paulo, Brazil
Department of Life and Health Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao
Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macao
Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Departments of Population and Public Health Sciences, and Psychology, School of Social Work, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development, Department of Psychology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines
Department of Medical Psychology, School of Medical Sciences, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo, Paraguay
School of Health Sciences, Universidad Sudamericana, Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay
Department of Psychology, University of Picardie Jules Verne, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France
Centre for Health Behaviours Research (CHBR), JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, NT, Shatin, Hong Kong
Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Institute of Psychology, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

Institute of Psychology
Institute of Psychology
Institute of Psychology
Institute of Psychology
Department of Human Resource Management & Employment Relations
Department of Work and Organizational Psychology
Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management
Department of Work
Psychology Department
Research Center
School of Management
The Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Department of Human Resources Management
Department of Psychology
Center of Excellence for Positive Organizational Psychology
School of Management
Department of Psychology
School of Business
University of Oradea
Psychology and Counseling Department
University of Milano-Bicocca
Department of Business Administration
Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences
Institute of Psychology
Department of Education and Psychology
Faculty of Liberal Arts
Department of Management and Marketing
College of Management
Department of Psychology
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Institute of Psychology
Institute of Psychology
Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming
Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Pedagogy and Psychology Department
Department of Psychiatry
Psychology Department
Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Department of Special Needs Education
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
University of Iceland
School of Psychology
QualiPsy UR 1901
Institut Universitaire de France (IUF)
Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas
Centro de Administração e Políticas Públicas (CAPP)
International Gaming Research Unit
International Scientific-Educational Center
Research Centre for Psychology and Human Well-being
Department of Psychology
College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences
Department of Psychology
University of Namibia
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Daugavpils University
Psychology Department
Adnan Kassar School of Business – AACSB Accredited
Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
School of Education
Department of Psychology
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Psychology
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
Department of Psychology
Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences
Department of Journalism and Advertising
National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)
Universidad de Palermo
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Department of Life Sciences
Faculty of Philosophy Nikšić
Institute of Psychology of the University of Lausanne
Department of Sociology
Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE)
Faculty of Psychology and Education
School of Psychology
Faculty of Psychology
Department of Social Psychology
Sakarya University of Applied Sciences
Department of Health
Department of Psychosocial Science
Department of Psychology
School of Psychological Sciences
Psychosocial Safety Climate Global Observatory
Leeds University Business School
School of Liberal Arts
Universidad Privada de Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Department of Cardiology
Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology
Faculty of Nursing
Faculty of Media and Communication
Interfaculty for Graduate Studies and Research
Department of Psychology
Sao Paulo School of Business Administration
Department of Life and Health Sciences
Department of Social Sciences
Faculty of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia
Departments of Population and Public Health Sciences
Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development
Department of Medical Psychology
School of Health Sciences
Department of Psychology
Centre for Health Behaviours Research (CHBR)
Institute of Psychology
Charles University
Institute of Psychology

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