Work addiction is associated with increased stress and reduced quality of life: Validation of the Bergen Work Addiction Scale in Danish

Addiction to work is defined as a compulsion or an uncontrollable need to work incessantly. Only few measures exist to identify work addiction and the health consequences are sparsely explored. The Bergen Workaholic Scale (BWAS) measures seven core elements of work addiction and has been used in Norway, Hungary, Brazil, Italy, USA and Poland. The aim of this study was to validate the BWAS in a Danish sample and to investigate if high risk of work addiction was associated with stress and reduced quality of life. We conducted an online screening survey with 671 participants aged 16–68 years with the Danish translation of the BWAS. We added the perceived stress scale (PSS) and the quality of life scale EQ‐5D‐5L. Those with high risk of work addiction reported significantly higher mean PSS scores (20.0 points) compared to those with low risk of addiction (12.5 points) and poorer quality of life (61.9) compared to the low risk group (81.3). Furthermore, work addiction was associated with more weekly working hours (44.0 vs. 35.6 hours/week) and having more leadership responsibility. A preliminary estimate of work addiction prevalence was 6.6%. The BWAS demonstrated good reliability (α = 0.83), and factor analyses pointed at a single factor structure. Work addiction seems to be associated with health problems in terms of stress and poorer quality of life. The BWAS is recommended as a reliable and valid tool to identify work addiction in Danish.     

The aesthetic appeal of auditory-visual synaesthetic perceptions in people without synaesthesia

The term 'visual music' refers to works of art in which both hearing and vision are directly or indirectly stimulated. Our ability to create, perceive, and appreciate visual music is hypothesised to rely on the same multisensory processes that support auditory visual (AV) integration in other contexts. Whilst these mechanisms have been extensively studied, there has been little research on how these processes affect aesthetic judgments (of liking or preference). Studies of synaesthesia in which sound evokes vision and studies of cross-modal biases in non-synaesthetes have revealed non-arbitrary mappings between visual and auditory properties (eg high-pitch sounds being smaller and brighter). In three experiments, we presented members of the general population with animated AV clips derived from synaesthetic experiences and contrasted them with a number of control conditions. The control conditions consisted of the same clips rotated or with the colour changed, random AV pairings, or animated clips generated by non-synaesthetes. Synaesthetic AV animations were generally preferred over the control conditions. The results suggest that non-arbitrary AV mappings, present in the experiences of synaesthetes, can be readily appreciated by others and may underpin our tendency to engage with certain forms of art.     

A cognitive model of suicidal behavior: Theory and treatment

With some prominent exceptions, much of the research designed to elucidate the nature, prevalence, and correlates of suicidal behavior has been conducted from an atheoretical perspective. Conversely, psychological theories to explain suicidal behavior are largely untested by rigorous experimental designs. We propose a cognitive model of suicidal behavior that is grounded in the empirical literature on cognitive and behavioral correlates of and risk factors for suicidal behavior. In addition, we demonstrate the manner in which the theoretical components are targeted in cognitive therapy for suicidal patients. We highlight aspects of the model with less empirical support, and we propose ways those constructs can be tested in future research.     

Were you paying attention to where you looked? The role of executive working memory in visual search

Recent evidence has indicated that performing a working memory task that loads executive working memory leads to less efficient visual search (Han & Kim, 2004). We explored the role that executive functioning plays in visual search by examining the pattern of eye movements while participants performed a search task with or without a secondary executive working memory task. Results indicate that executive functioning plays two roles in visual search: the identification of objects and the control of the disengagement of attention.     

Eventual suicide in interrupted and uninterrupted attempters: a challenge to the cry-for-help hypothesis

A total of 499 patients hospitalized for suicide attempts (attempters) between 1970 and 1975 were followed until 1982; of this group, 28 (5.6%) eventually committed suicide. Six (14.6%) of the 41 patients who had been interrupted during their initial attempts eventually committed suicide, whereas only 22 (4.8%) of the 458 patients who had not been interrupted eventually committed suicide. The interrupted attempters were approximately three times more likely to commit suicide than the uninterrupted attempters.