The Occupational Depression Inventory performs well in Norway

Abstract

Abstract This study examined the psychometric and structural properties of the Norwegian version of the Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI). Three independent samples of employees were recruited. Sample 1 included 382 individuals (50.8% female); Sample 2, 485 individuals (67.8% female); and Sample 3, 353 individuals (51.8% female). The ODI met the requirements for essential unidimensionality, strong scalability, and high total-score reliability. The instrument’s total score accurately ranked respondents on the latent dimension underlying the measure. The ODI showed a balance of convergent and discriminant validity when examined against a classical (i.e., an attribution-free) measure of depressive symptoms. Supporting the ODI’s criterion validity, occupational depression evinced a meaningful pattern of relations with work addiction, antidepressant intake, work motivation, physical assault at work, verbal abuse at work, workplace ostracism, sick leave, workplace bullying, and socioeconomic optimism. Work-attributed depressive symptoms were strongly linked to turnover intention. Measurement invariance held across samples, sexes, and age segments. The prevalence of occupational depression was estimated at 2.1% in Sample 1, 2.3% in Sample 2, and 2.0% in Sample 3. We conclude that occupational health specialists can rely on the ODI to assess job-related distress in the Norwegian working population.