The Internal Family System's Model proposes that individuals led by reactive firefighter behavior are in direct contrast to those who are Self-led individuals. However, this hypothesis was yet to be empirically tested until the present study examined Self-leadership as it related to a specific type of firefighter behavior: that of workaholism. A sample of 109 respondents completed The Self-Leadership Scale, Work Addiction Risk Test, and the Job Burnout Scale. As expected, a positive relationship was found between workaholism and burnout and an inverse relationship was found between Self-leadership and the firefighter behavior of workaholism. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between workaholics and nonworkaholics on both Self-leadership and burnout, workaholics having lower mean Self-leadership scores and higher mean job burnout scores than nonworkaholics. Implications of these findings for the Internal Family Systems Model were discussed. 1 Principal Author’s address: 31 Clayton Street, Asheville, NC 28801. E-mail: cogswood@yahoo.com. Bryan Robinson is an IFS trained psychotherapist in Private Practice in Charlotte, NC and a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Special Education and Child Development at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC. He is author of Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners and Children and the Clinicians Who Treat Them (NYU Press, 1998). Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Research Technology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Director of Counseling at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and IFS trained therapist. INTRODUCTION The concepts of “Self-Leadership" and "workaholism firefighters" examined in this study are based on the communion of two separate bodies of work: the Internal Family Systems (IPS) model proposed by Richard Schwartz (1995, 2001), which identifies workaholism as a firefighter and the extensive research of Bryan Robinson (Robinson, 1998a; Robinson & Flowers, 2004), which defines workaholism as an addiction. Both bodies of work conceptualize workaholism as a form of escape from unresolved emotional pain. Schwartz's Concept of Firefighters and Self Leadership According to Schwartz (2001), the internal parts of us that go into action to put out emotional fires are called firefighters: "Firefighters do whatever it takes to deliver us out of the red alert condition. What's your first impulse when you first feel the desperate burning of hurt, emptiness, worthlessness, shame, rejection, loneliness, or fear? Which urge do you act upon to take away that fire in your belly? Which ones do you only fantasize? Many of us, in a compromise with our managers, binge on something socially acceptable--work, food, exercise, television, shopping, dieting, flirting, sleeping, prescription drugs, cigarettes, coffee, daydreams and fantasies, gambling, mediating, thrill-seeking activities--in an effort to distract from the flames until they burn themselves out or are doused." (p. 155-156). The grouping of parts, described by Schwartz, is a process in which "firefighters" react powerfully and automatically when "exiles" (the deeper, more vulnerable parts of the system) are upset. Firefighters try to stifle or soothe the exiled part's feelings by Robinson, Flowers, and Burris Journal of Self Leadership Volume 2 2006 92 responding to threat of exposure or activation of the vulnerable exiled parts much like a firefighter to a firewith urgency and alarm. Firefighter parts are a part of the human system because there are times that, despite the best efforts of the "managers" (the preemptive parts of the internal system), the exiles are activated and threaten to break out and take over. When this happens, firefighter parts leap into action to contain or extinguish the person's feelings, sensations, or images. The techniques firefighters use often include (but are not limited to) numbing activities such as self-mutilation, binge eating, drug or alcohol abuse, excessive masturbation, or workaholism. Firefighter parts can also be in both a polarized and a collaborative relationship with manager parts. When in a collaborative role, firefighters serve as back-up protection for the manager from a take-over by the exiled parts, and when they are in a polarized relationship, they serve to bring a needed relief to the system. When activated, the firefighters can take over control so the person feels nothing but the compulsion to engage in dissociative or self-soothing activities. These firefighters can make the person extremely selfabsorbed and increase their demand for excessive material gain, numbing activities and protective rage. Individuals led by their reactive firefighters are in direct contrast to those who are Self-led individuals. SelfLeadership is reflected in active, compassionate personalities who hold diversity and unity in balance and exhibit eight types of self-energy in their daily lives: calm, clarity, curiosity, compassion, confidence, courage, creativity, and connectedness (Schwartz, 2001). In terms of Self-leadership, self-led individuals would be what Robinson (1998a) refers to as balanced or healthy workers in contrast to those who engage in compulsive overworking as an avoidant reaction. One can imagine, as in the case of someone suffering from workaholism, how the firefighter parts would playa role in the system. Often companies not only encourage but also demand from their employees a predominance of these protective parts. For example, requiring long hours dedicated to work encourages the domination of manager parts to maintain focus. This suppresses other parts that want other things like having leisure and family time. When these parts begin to press forward, the threat to the person's success in the company then further triggers numbing or distracting activities. We are all familiar with the workaholic father who avoids family life because it uncomfortably and painfully reminds him of his own unhappy childhood or unhappy marriage. This suppressed unhappiness triggers firefighter parts to create real or imagined emergencies at work to take him away from time with the family. On a recent trip to Disney World, a father was observed talking on his cell phone to his company about how to save the potential loss of a client while he was riding on a ride with his son. Firefighter parts can also help the person feel alive, energized, and fully engaged when the protective manager stifles the emotional atmosphere of the internal system. The problem is that they have to maintain this external stimulation continuously in order to prevent the exiles from taking over. A recent client discussed that he is tired of his work and social engagements. As we explored the fear of what would happen if he relaxed, he talked about the immense fear he felt about being pulled back into feelings of loneliness if he relaxed. Robinson's Concept of Workaholism as an Addiction Although Robinson (2000a, 2000b, 2000c; 2001) cites workaholism as the bestdressed mental health problem of the twenty-first century, he contends that the subject has been downplayed, ignored or extolled in the professional literature. Although the term has been variously defined in the literature (see Robinson & Flowers, 2004, for a review), "workaholism" is defined in this article as a compulsive and progressive, potentially fatal disorder, characterized by self-imposed demands, compulsive overworking, inability to regulate work habits, and an overindulgence in work to the exclusion and detriment of intimate relationships and major life activities (Robinson, 1998a). Historically, the study of workaholism was focused on its implications for work productivity, career counseling, and organizational management (e.g., Burke, 2000, 2004; Matthews & Halbrook, 1990; Naughton, 1987; Porter, 1996, 1998,2004; Robinson, 1989, 1999). In the same way alcoholism and substance abuse had been shown to deleteriously impact families, Robinson and his colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte began to study workaholism as an addiction in the same way researchers had studied alcoholism, substance abuse, and other "firefighter' behaviors in terms of family functioning (e.g. Robinson, 1998b; Robinson & Post, 1995b, 1997; Robinson, Flowers, & Carroll, 2001). The structural and dynamic characteristics of the workaholic family indicated that all family members can be negatively affected by workaholism, like alcoholism, and can develop a set of mental health problems of their own (Robinson, 1996b, 1996c, 1998b, Robinson, Flowers, and Burris Journal of Self Leadership Volume 2 2006 93 200 I; Robinson & Chase, 200 I). The bulk of clinical data (Robinson, 1998c, 2000a, 2000b, 2000c) and empirical study (Carroll & Robinson, 2000, Navarette, 1998; Robinson & Carroll, 1999; Robinson & Kelley, 1998; Searcy, 2000) has focused on adult children of workaholics. Generally, these findings suggest that adult children of workaholics have greater psychological problems and more health complaints than adult children of non-workaholics. Additional studies examining the marital relationship (Robinson, Carroll, & Flowers, 2001; Robinson, Flowers, & Ng, in press) indicate that workaholic behavior is positively related to marital estrangement and that spouses of workaholics report greater marital estrangement and less positive affect toward their workaholic mates and higher external locus of control than spouses of nonworkaholics. These studies were possible because of the recent development of a psychometrically sound instrument that has allowed the objective measurement of the concept of workaholism (Robinson, 1998a). As a first study of its kind, the present investigation sought to extend our understanding of workaholism as it related to Schwartz's concept of Self-Leadership and firefighter behavior,

Previous research suggests that wives of workaholics experience greater marital estrangement and less positive feelings than do wives of nonworkaholics. This study examined husbands' perception of marital disaffection and the relationship to their wives' workaholic tendencies. A random sample of 272 male members of the American Counseling Association were mailed a survey that examined their spouses' workaholic behavior, marital disaffection, locus of control, and positive and negative affects. The results suggest that workaholism is positively related to martial disaffection (p < .01). The most important workaholism domains for predicting martial disaffection were overcontrolling behavior (r = .36) and impaired communication (r = .38). The results underscore the need for greater clinical awareness of marital problems associated with workaholic tendency.

Marital estrangement, positive feelings toward spouses, and locus of control among a national sample of 323 female counselors who were either married or formerly married to alcohol‐abusing or to non‐alcohol‐abusing male partners were examined. Statistically significant differences between groups were found.

This paper examines the relationship between workaholism and family functioning and the psychological outcomes of family members. A profile of the workaholic family is presented, along with an argument for family scientists and practitioners to pay more attention to this neglected area of family life. Considerations for how to address the need in family research and practice also are presented.

Using structural equation modeling the relationship of work stress and marital cohesion was empirically investigated. It was hypothesized that work stress would have an inverse relationship with marital cohesion. Participants were a random sample of 326 adult females who were members of the American Counseling Association. The results of the data-model fit analyses support the hypothesized relationship. The coefficient of determination for the structural equation was 0.60 indicating a substantial degree of explanation for the relationship tested. Implications of these findings for future research are presented.

This article presents a brief review of the research on workaholism and the family and offers a typology of workaholism that more adequately portrays the various work styles of workaholics than have past classifications. This typology, which is based on level of work initiation and work completion, denotes 4 types of workaholics: relentless, bulimic, attention‐deficit, and savoring. Implications of this typology for the practice of counseling are proposed.

This article examines the clinical and empirical literature on the impact of parental workaholism on adult children. A case study is presented along with recommendations for family therapists on how to address the needs of adult children of workaholics in therapy.

This article attempts to narrow the gap between the studies of workaholism and human relations/organizational development and workaholism and cross‐cultural research and family counseling. Important studies on workaholism in the cross‐cultural and family counseling fields, which are typically absent in the organizational and career research literature, are reviewed. Recommendations for future research considerations also are presented.

Investigators examined relationships among levels of depression and parentification in undergraduate university students. Instrument scores were used to identify participants as (a) adult children with alcoholic parents, (b) adult children with workaholic parents, (c) adult children with at least one parent who was both alcoholic and workaholic, and (d) a comparison group composed of adult children who met none of the other group criteria. Children of workaholics scored significantly higher on measures of depression and parentification, and they reported parents worked more hours than did parents of children of alcoholics and the comparison group. Children of alcoholics scored significantly higher than the comparison group on the measure of parentification. Children with parents who met both descriptions scored significantly higher than children of alcoholics and the comparison group on the three dimensions described and on combined number of hours both parents worked.

The relationships between childhood workaholism and Type A behaviors among school‐age children were examined in terms of their self‐esteem, anxiety, and locus of control. A total of 40 elementary‐school children, their parents, and teachers took a battery of tests. No relationships were found between child Type A behaviors as rated by parents and children's self‐perceived workaholism, self‐esteem, anxiety, and locus of control. There was no relationship between parental workaholism and any of the child instrument scores. Teachers' competitiveness ratings of children were positively related to children's internal locus of control and social self‐esteem. Teachers' impatience ratings of children were negatively related to children's school self‐esteem. Workaholism among the children was positively related to their anxiety and inversely related to their self‐esteem and internal locus of control. Child anxiety also was inversely related to childhood self‐esteem and internal locus of control.

Americans love a hard worker. The man or woman who works eighteen-hour days and eats his or her meals on the run between appointments is usually viewed with a combination of respect and awe. But for many, this lifestyle leads to family problems, a decline in work productivity, and ultimately to physical and mental collapse. "Chained to the Desk", best-selling author and widely respected family therapist Bryan E. Robinson's groundbreaking book, originally published in 1998, was the first comprehensive portrait of the workaholic. Thousands benefited from this innovative book, which profiles the myths behind this greatly misunderstood disorder and the inner psychological battle that work addicts wage against themselves. Intended for anyone touched by what Robinson calls "the best-dressed problem of the twenty-first century," the author also provides an inside look into the impact on those who live and work with workaholics - partners, spouses, children, and colleagues - as well as the appropriate techniques for clinicians who treat them. In this new and updated edition, Robinson portrays the many different kinds of workaholism, drawing on hundreds of case reports from his own original research and years of clinical practice. From California to the Carolinas, men and women tell of their agonizing bouts with workaholism and the devastations left in its wake, struggles made all the more challenging in a world where the computer, cell phone, and Blackberry allow twenty-four-hour access to the office, even on weekends and from vacation spots. Adult children of workaholics describe their childhood pain and the lifelong legacies they still carry, and the spouses or partners of workaholics reveal the isolation and loneliness of their vacant relationships. Employers and business colleagues discuss the cost to the company when workaholism dominates the workplace. "Chained to the Desk" both counsels and consoles. It provides a step-by-step guide to help readers spot workaholism, understand it, and recover. Robinson presents strategies for workaholics and their loved ones on how to cope, and for people in the workplace on how to distinguish between work efficiency and workaholism.

Research on the psychological functioning of young children of alcoholics (YCOA) has been prolific in recent years. Because YCOAs survive by hiding their parents' problems, pretending everything is normal, and trying to avoid being discovered (Knight, 1993), the needs of these children include exploring feelings, building selfesteem, developing coping skills, managing stress, and decision-making (O'Rourke, 1990). These needs are critical to school-aged children's ability to succeed in school.The ability to cope with anxiety, assume responsibility for self, and exhibit high self-esteem are critical factors researchers have suggested as contributing to making some school-aged children invulnerable to future problems.The studies comparing levels of anxiety, locus of control, and lower self-esteem between YCOAs and non-YCOAs have employed children who were in treatment or whose families were in treatment for the effects of alcoholism. Recent studies (Barnard & Spoentgen, 1987; Webb. Post, Robinson, & Moreland, 1991) have indicated that because many of these children have been undergoing treatment, they are a select group and may not represent the at-large population of YCOAs. There are 7 million children of alcoholics in the United States under the age of 18 for whom little help is available (Robinson, 1989). Increasingly, empirical research has indicated that school-aged children of alcoholics are at great risk in every major developmental area. For example, there are greater numbers of marital disturbances and reports of unhappiness and instability in alcoholic homes (Schulsinger, Knop, Goodwin,Teasdale, & Mikkelsen,1986). Similarly, alcoholic families are less cohesive, less organized, less oriented toward intellectual or cultural pursuits, and more conflictridden (Clair & Genest, 1987). Also, there are greater emotional problems in alcoholic families that are attributed to frequent quarrels between parents, lack of care for the children, higher divorce rates, and the entire family's preoccupation with the alcoholic's irresponsible behaviors (Black, Bucky, & Wilder-Padilla, 1986; Venugopal, 1985). The childrearing practices of alcoholic fathers, compared to nonalcoholic fathers, are more likely to include ridicule, rejection, harshness, and neglect (Udayakumar, Mohan, Shariff, Sekar, Sr Eswari,1984).The attitudes of alcoholic mothers, compared to nonalcoholic mothers, tend to be less accepting, more rejecting, disciplinarian, or overprotecting, and they have a significantly greater degree of conflicting attitudes (Krauthamer,1979). As a result of the stress of living with an alcoholic parent, school-aged children of alcoholics are more likely to have physical, mental, social, and emotional problems than children of nonalcoholics. Later in childhood, they frequent hospitals for complaints of abdominal pain, headaches, tiredness, sleep problems, tics, enuresis, and nausea, although no physical causes for such complaints can be found (Nylander, 1960). Children of alcoholics are more prone to migraine and asthma (Schneiderman, 1975). They are more likely to have allergies, anemia, frequent colds or coughs, and to be overweight or underweight (Moos & Billings, 1982). Compared to children of nonalcoholics, children of alcoholics are at greater risk for depression (Black et al.,1986; Clair & Genest,1987; Moos & Billings,1982), emotional problems (Miller & Jang, 1977), ineffectual peer relationships (Booz-Allen & Hamilton, 1974; Cork, 1969; Wilson & Orford, 1978), low school achievement (Ervin, Little, Streissguth, & Beck,1984; Hegedus,Alterman, T Marcus,1986;Tarter, Hegedus, Goldstein, Shelly, & Alterman, 1984), suicide attempts (Kroll, Stock, & James, 1985; Weatherford,1988), acting out behaviors and conduct disorders (Beardslee, Son, & Vaillant, 1986: Merikangas, Weissman, Prusoff, Pauls, & Leckman, 1985; Steinhausen, Gobel, & Nestler,1984). …

Summary This paper examines the literature on work addiction, including recent definitions of the construct and the psychometric properties of the first instrument to measure work addiction. The growing anecdotal and empirical literature are discussed in terms of the impact of work addiction on family functioning with practical implications for EAP counselors.

Perhaps for good reason, the attention of elementary school counselors has been focused on hard-to-reach, hard-to-educate, hard-to-teach children. However, the literature is beginning to reveal that overly successful, perfectionistic, hard-driving children are also at risk emotionally, socially, and physically. In many cases, the physical and emotional health and the need for greater interpersonal relationships of Type A children are being compromised due to the belief that increased achievement brings increased self-worth (Lynch & Schaffer, 1989). The purpose of this article is to review briefly the literature on Type A children, to provide an assessment of Type A behavior in elementary school children, and to provide implications for counselors. Type A behavior is defined as an action or an emotion that includes behavioral dispositions, specific behaviors, and emotional responses that are evident in those who participate in chronic behaviors that are aggressive and competitive with the goal of achieving more in less time (Copeland, 1990; Houston & Snyder, 1988; Raikkonen, 1993). Although the goals of those exhibiting Type A behavior are poorly defined, the following symptoms characterize Type A behavior: (a) a continual drive to succeed, (b) an acute desire for competition, (c) a need to achieve and be recognized, (d) a persistent need for time restrictions, (e) the aptitude or ability to accelerate physical and mental functions, (f) increased mental and physical alertness, and (g) aggressive and hostile feelings (Houston, 1988; Raikkonen & Keltikangas-Jarvinen, 1992; Yamasaki, 1990). According to Visintainer and Matthews (1987), Type A children often suppress their fatigue and become compulsive overachievers. They attempt to control others, are impatient, competitive, and achievementoriented, and have a sense of urgency and perfectionism. Whereas Type A children tend to choose the performances of others as standards against which to compete, Type B children (i.e., children with an absence of the Type A behavior pattern) tend to choose their own previous performance as a standard (Lopes & Best, 1987). Visintainer and Matthews (1987) traced the origins of Type A behavior and its association with coronary artery and heart disease to childhood. They observed Type A characteristics among school children as young as

Work addiction and its associated problems have been ignored or downplayed in the professional literature. The author reviews anecdotal research and the small number of empirical studies that examine the relationship between work addiction and family-of-origin dysfunction and its impact on family development. The latest empirical research, although tentative at best, was found to corroborate earlier anecdotal reports on nearly all the variables studied. Intervention strategies are presented for counselor implementation.

This paper examined the literature in terms of the impact of work addiction on family functioning. A theoretical model is presented which suggests that a relationship exists between work addiction, family of origin, and family functioning in adulthood. A review of the pertinent literature is presented followed by a case example and clinical implications for the practice of marriage and family therapy.