Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Workaholism Battery

Abstract

The authors designed the current study to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the workaholism battery (J. T. Spence & A. S. Robbins, 1992). Using the back-translation strategy recommended by R. Brislin (1980), the authors translated the original scale developed by Spence and Robbins. Factor analyses of responses from 1,235 full-time workers in Taiwan revealed a 5-factor solution. The reliability coefficients of the factors ranged from .58 to .88. Significant correlations between the 5 factors, the work-addiction risk test, career commitment, and job involvement provided evidence for convergent validity. Significant correlations between the 5 factors and criterion variables (emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and hours worked per week) provided evidence of concurrent criterion validity. Overall, the findings suggest that the Taiwanese workers conceptualize workaholism as 5 dimensions rather than the 2 or 3 dimensions that previous empirical studies (A. Kanai, M. Wakabayashi, & S. Fling, 1996; L. H. W. McMillan, E. C. Brady, M. P. Driscoll, & N. V. Marsh, 2002; J. T. Spence & A. S. Robbins, 1992) have suggested. The authors discussed implications and limitations of their findings.