Measurement Invariance of the Internet Addiction Test Among Hong Kong, Japanese, and Malaysian Adolescents

There has been increased research examining the psychometric properties on the Internet Addiction Test across different ages and populations. This population-based study examined the psychometric properties using Confirmatory Factory Analysis and measurement invariance using Item Response Theory (IRT) of the IAT in adolescents from three Asian countries. In the Asian Adolescent Risk Behavior Survey (AARBS), 2,535 secondary school students (55.91% girls) in Grade 7 to Grade 13 (Mean age = 15.61 years; SD=1.56) from Hong Kong (n=844), Japan (n=744), and Malaysia (n=947) completed a survey on their Internet use that incorporated the IAT scale. A nested hierarchy of hypotheses concerning IAT cross-country invariance was tested using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. Replicating past finding in Hong Kong adolescents, the construct of IAT is best represented by a second-order three-factor structure in Malaysian and Japanese adolescents. Configural, metric, scalar, and partial strict factorial invariance was established across the three samples. No cross-country differences on Internet addiction were detected at latent mean level. This study provided empirical support to the IAT as a reliable and factorially stable instrument, and valid to be used across Asian adolescent populations

How Much Is Too Much to Pay for Internet Access? A Behavioral Economic Analysis of Internet Use

The popularity of online recreational activities, such as social networking, has dramatically increased the amount of time spent on the Internet. Excessive or inappropriate use of the Internet can result in serious adverse consequences. The current study used a behavioral economic task to determine if the amount of time spent online by problematic and nonproblematic users can be modified by price. The Internet Purchase Task was used to determine how much time undergraduate students (N=233) would spend online at 13 different prices. Despite high demand for Internet access when access was free, time spent online by both problematic and nonproblematic users decreased dramatically, even at low prices. These results suggest that the amount of time spent online may be modified by having a tangible cost associated with use, whereas having free access to the Internet may encourage excessive, problematic use.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140348/1/cyber.2014.0367.pd

Disconnected and unplugged: experiences of technology induced anxieties and tensions while traveling

The purpose of this study is to explore the experience of being disconnected while traveling for technologically savvy travelers. This paper will explore how new technologies ‘separate’ travelers from the physical and embodied travel experience, and how experiences and tensions caused by being disconnected or unplugged are negotiated. For this study, travelers’ experiences were elicited through a series of online interviews conducted primarily through email and Facebook. Pearce and Gretzel (2012)’s technology-induced tensions and recent literature on internet/technology addiction provide a conceptual framework for the analysis

PERAN KESEPIAN DAN PENGUNGKAPAN DIRI ONLINE TERHADAP KECANDUAN INTERNET PADA REMAJA AKHIR

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara kesepian dan pengungkapan diri online dengan kecanduan internet pada remaja akhir. Variabel tergantung pada penelitian ini adalah kecanduan internet, variabel bebas penelitian ini adalah kesepian dan pengungkapan diri online. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif dan analisis dilakukan pada 100 remaja akhir. Metode pengambilan data dilakukan menggunakan tiga skala diantaranya skala kecanduan internet, skala kesepian, dan skala pengungkapan diri online. Skala kecanduan internet merupakan adaptasi dari Young’s Internet Addiction Test (TIAT20) yang dikembangkan oleh Kimberly Young, skala terdiri antara 20 aitem. Skala kesepian merupakan adaptasi dari UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) yang dikembangkan oleh Daniel W. Russel terdiri dari 20 aitem. Sedangkan skala pengungkapan diri dari online Revised Self-disclosure Scale yang dikembangkan Louis Leung yang kemudian diadaptasi oleh Ina Blau terdiri dari 9 aitem. Uji hipotesis pertama dalam penelitian ini menggunakan korelasi regresi ganda sedangkan untuk hipotesis kedua dan ketiga menggunakan analisis regresi parsial. Hasil uji hipotesis menunjukkan adanya hubungan positif yang signifikan dengan nilai korelasi R = 0,305 dengan Flinier = 4,963 dengan signifikansi 0,009 (dengan p 0,05) yang menunjukkan bahawa tidak ada hubungan antara kesepian terhadap kecanduan internet. Analisis hipotesis` ketiga menunjukkan skor rx2y = 0,261 dengan p = 0,005 (dengan p=<0,01). Hasil tersebut menunjukkan bahwa ada hubungan positif yang signifikan antara pengungkapan diri online dengan kecanduan internet

Natural course of behavioral addictions: A 5-year longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: Resolving the theoretical controversy on the labeling of an increasing number of excessive behaviors as behavioral addictions may also be facilitated by more empirical data on these behavioral problems. For instance, an essential issue to the classification of psychiatric disorders is information on their natural course. However, longitudinal research on the chronic vs. episodic nature of behavioral addictions is scarce. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to provide data on prevalence, substance use comorbidity, and five-year trajectories of six excessive behaviors—namely exercising, sexual behavior, shopping, online chatting, video gaming, and eating. METHODS: Analyses were based on the data of the Quinte Longitudinal Study, where a cohort of 4,121 adults from Ontario, Canada was followed for 5 years (2006 to 2011). The response rate was 21.3%, while retention rate was 93.9%. To assess the occurrence of each problem behavior, a single self-diagnostic question asked people whether their over-involvement in the behavior had caused significant problems for them in the past 12 months. To assess the severity of each problem behavior reported, the Behavioral Addiction Measure was administered. A mixed design ANOVA was used to investigate symptom trajectories over time for each problem behavior and whether these symptom trajectories varied as a function of sex. RESULTS: The large majority of people reported having problematic over-involvement for just one of these behaviors and just in a single time period. A main effect of time was found for each problem behavior, indicating a moderately strong decrease in symptom severity across time. The time x sex interaction was insignificant in each model indicating that the decreasing trend is similar for males and females. The data also showed that help seeking was very low in the case of excessive sexual behavior, shopping, online chatting, and video gaming but substantially more prevalent in the case of excessive eating and exercising. CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate that self-identified excessive exercising, sexual behavior, shopping, online chatting, video gaming, and/or eating tend to be fairly transient for most people. This aspect of the results is inconsistent with conceptualizations of addictions as progressive in nature, unless treated. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0383-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Schizotypy as a predictor for social media use and internet addiction behaviors in emerging adults

This study examined the unique domains/symptom clusters within schizotypy as they relate to Facebook use and internet addiction behaviors, while controlling for co-morbid disorders such as depression and anxiety. Using an online survey, this study measured electronic media use, internet addiction behavior, and schizotypy in 270 undergraduate students (aged 18-30). We expected mood symptoms of anxiety and depression to predict both internet addiction and Facebook use in this sample, and controlled for these variables accordingly. We hypothesized that schizotypy would contribute significantly to the prediction of internet addiction and Facebook use above and beyond anxiety, depression, and demographic variables and anticipated that the strongest predictor of internet addiction would be positive schizotypy, followed by negative schizotypy, and lastly disorganized schizotypy. After a model comparison utilizing hierarchical linear regression, schizotypy total scores predicted internet addiction behavior as well as frequency of Facebook use in this sample. However, contrary to our expectations, disorganized schizotypy was found to be the best predictor of internet addiction. The details of these findings are discussed in addition to a call for more research into electronic media use in this population of emerging adults

Altered brain functional networks in Internet gaming disorder: independent component and graph theoretical analysis under a probability-discounting task

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is becoming a matter of concern around the world. However, the neural mechanism underlying IGD remains unclear. In present study, we used independent component analysis (ICA) and graph theoretical analysis (GTA) to explore the potential changed networks in IGD subjects compared to recreational game user (RGU) under a probability-discounting task. Imaging and behavioral data were collected from 18 IGD and 20 RGU subjects. Behavioral results showed the IGD subjects, comparing to RGU, prefer risky options to the fixed ones and spent less time in making risky decisions. In imaging results, the ICA analysis revealed that the IGD showed stronger functional connectivity (FC) in reward circuits and executive control network, as well as lower FC in anterior salience network (ASN) than RGU; for the GTA results, the IGD showed impaired FC in reward circuits and ASN compared to RGU. Taken all, these results suggest that IGD subjects were more sensitive to rewards and, at the same time, they usually neglect the potential punishment under a risky circumstance. Besides this, they were more impulsive in decision-making as they could not control their impulsivity effectively. This might explain why IGD subjects cannot stop their gaming behaviors even facing serve negative consequences

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Internet Addiction Test-Social Networking Sites Version: Dimensionality Assessment of Social Networking Site Addiction

Background: By evaluating the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Internet Addiction Test-Social Networking Sites version (IAT-SNS) in a sample of Iranian university students, this study investigated the dimensionality of SNS addiction for the first time. Methods: A total of 620 SNS users (414 women) participated in the study. The study questionnaire comprised demographic information, SNS usage patterns, the IAT-SNS, and the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). Findings: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) identified the 3-factor structure of the IAT-SNS, namely ‘Lack of Control’, ‘Emotional and Relational Conflict’, and ‘Preference for online relationships’ that explained 54% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) verified the current model. Problematic users on average exhibited higher scores on the whole IAT-SNS and each of the 3 factors as compared to non-problematic users. The IAT-SNS and its factors showed good internal consistency, and strong convergent and concurrent validity. Conclusion: The Persian version of the IAT–SNS is valid and reliable, and is applicable for measuring the 3 dimensions of SNS addiction among students

Comparación del grado de adicción a Internet en estudiantes de nivel superior del Instituto Politécnico Nacional y de la Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit

La dependencia tecnológica es causa del trastorno emergente llamado Adicción a Internet (AI). El objetivo del estudio es comparar el grado de AI entre estudiantes de nivel superior del Instituto Politécnico Nacional y de la Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit. Se aplicó la escala de AI de Kimberly Young conformada por 20 ítems con 5 categorías de respuesta y tres grados de adicción. El diseño del estudio es no experimental, transversal descriptivo. Se realizó la prueba t de Student para comparar las muestras de las instituciones en estudio, resultando una p≤0.001. Por lo tanto, existe diferencia estadísticamente significativa entre las medias de ambos grupos, por lo que los grados de AI son diferentes entre las instituciones