Falco, A., Kravina, L., Girardi, D., Dal Corso, L., Di Sipio, A., & De Carlo, N. A.
The convergence between self and observer ratings of workaholism: A comparison between couples
In the study of individual and behavioral characteristics, the need emerges to use observer ratings as well as self report type instruments in order to limit the intrinsic errors in both of the research methodologies. The present study looks deeper into the role of observer ratings in measuring workaholism. In particular, we evaluate the metric properties of a scale of observer rating of work addiction (DUWAS-OR) in terms of validity and reliability, and we determine its effectiveness in terms of distinguishing between workaholic workers. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 243 couples of husband/wife or partners (N = 486) including scales of self report and observer rating of the partner, together with scales measuring workload and work-family conflict. A confirmatory factor analysis of the DUWAS-OR highlighted a two factor model of the scale, which presents good fit indexes; the analysis of the correlations between variables suggests good properties in terms of discriminant and convergent validity. Finally, using McNemar’s test it was possible to determine that the number of participants identified as workaholic does not differ between the two methods, with a percentage of perfect correspondence of more than 80%. These results suggest the opportuneness of using an integrated approach to measure workaholism.
