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The Occupational Depression Inventory performs well in Norway

Year: 2026

Type: article

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.

Source: Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-52564-x