Maladaptive Daydreaming: a preliminary study to investigate the comparison of psychological problems and job performance among two groups of nurses

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is an extreme form of daydreaming that may cause significant psychological distress and dysfunction in individuals. A lot of research has been done on maladaptive daydreaming weaving recently, but its psychopathology is still not clear. The aim of this study was to compare psychological problems and job performance among two groups of nurses with MD and without MD.

This research is causal-comparative. The statistical population of this research was made up of all the nurses of Kermanshah hospitals. Among the statistical population, 80 nurses were selected as a sample group in a convenience manner. Using the MDS-16 scale, out of 80 people in the sample, 30 people were diagnosed as having MD symptoms and 50 people were diagnosed as people without MD symptoms. 30 people without MD symptoms were selected and compared with the group with MD symptoms (30 people). The maladaptive daydreaming scale, generalized anxiety disorder scale, obsessive-compulsive questionnaire, self-report diagnostic questionnaire of attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and job performance questionnaire were used to collect information. The analysis of the information obtained from the implementation of questionnaires was done through SPSS software version 24 in two descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (multivariate analysis of variance) sections.

The results indicated that there is a significant difference between psychological problems and job performance among two groups of nurses with and without maladaptive daydreaming (P<0.05). Between the fact that nurses with maladaptive daydreaming have a higher mean score in general anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, attention deficit and hyperactivity and have a lower score in job performance.

The presence of MD among nurses and a high score in psychological problems and a low score in job performance indicate a potentially serious, comprehensive and important problem. This preliminary study should provide a solid foundation for more detailed research on the causes and factors associated with MD and other related psychological problems and job performance. In addition, it is suggested to pay special attention to MD as an important component.