INTRODUCTION

Although work addiction has been first described in the 1970s, research on the field has only become intensified during the last decades. Symptoms of work addiction are similar to the characteristics of other behavioral addictions (e.g., tolerance, intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts, and withdrawal symptoms). Until today, only one nationally representative survey was conducted (in Norway) to estimate the prevalence of work addic - tion. Our aim was to explore the prevalence of work addiction in the Hungarian population and define the possible risk and protective factors of the problem.

METHODS

The study was carried out on a nationally representative sample of the Hungarian adult population aged 16-64 years (N=2274) with the age group of 18-34 being over-representing. The weighted sample of the 18-64-yearold population covered 1490 individuals. Several sociodemographic variables were collected and the following measurements were applied: Bergen Work Addiction Scale; Brief Symptom Inventory; Barratt Impulsiveness Scale; and Well-Being Inventory.

RESULTS

8% (95% CI ± 1.38%) of the Hungarian adult population currently having a job has been classified to be atrisk for work addiction, which means 4.7% (95% CI ± 1.07%) for the whole adult population. Binary logistic regression analyses identified the following risk factors: being female, higher satisfaction with the current job, dissatisfaction with the current health status, more frequent psychiatric symptoms, and a higher level of (motor) impulsiveness.

CONCLUSION

We could identify several risk factors of work addiction and our results can be applied both in future research and in the practice of clinical psychology and work psychology. Our results have also highlighted that work addiction can be categorized closer to the impulsive end of the obsessive-compulsive spectrum.