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

Psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test in Turkish

Background and aims In this study, the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was adapted to Turkish language, which was originally developed by Young (1998) in English to measure the presence and severity of the Internet dependency. The main purpose was to ensure that the psychometric features and the factor structure of the test were suitable for Turkish university students. Method The study was conducted in two sequent phases. Participants were 990 undergraduate students from several public universities in Turkey. Results In the first phase, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to figure out the factor structure of the Turkish version of the IAT. The EFA revealed four factors, which explained 46.02% of the total variance. In the following phase, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with a different sample, to verify the factor structure that was found in the initial EFA. The CFA resulted four-factor model was satisfactory for the Turkish version of the IAT. These four factors were named as Mood, Relationship, Responsibilities, and Duration. Conclusions Based on the findings, the administration of Turkish version of the IAT provided acceptable results on undergraduate students

Problematic use of the Internet is a unidimensional quasi-trait with impulsive and compulsive subtypes

Abstract: Background: Problematic use of the Internet has been highlighted as needing further study by international bodies, including the European Union and American Psychiatric Association. Knowledge regarding the optimal classification of problematic use of the Internet, subtypes, and associations with clinical disorders has been hindered by reliance on measurement instruments characterized by limited psychometric properties and external validation. Methods: Non-treatment seeking individuals were recruited from the community of Stellenbosch, South Africa (N = 1661), and Chicago, United States of America (N = 827). Participants completed an online version of the Internet Addiction Test, a widely used measure of problematic use of the Internet consisting of 20-items, measured on a 5-point Likert-scale. The online questions also included demographic measures, time spent engaging in different online activities, and clinical scales. The psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test, and potential problematic use of the Internet subtypes, were characterized using factor analysis and latent class analysis. Results: Internet Addiction Test data were optimally conceptualized as unidimensional. Latent class analysis identified two groups: those essentially free from Internet use problems, and those with problematic use of the Internet situated along a unidimensional spectrum. Internet Addiction Test scores clearly differentiated these groups, but with different optimal cut-offs at each site. In the larger Stellenbosch dataset, there was evidence for two subtypes of problematic use of the Internet that differed in severity: a lower severity “impulsive” subtype (linked with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), and a higher severity “compulsive” subtype (linked with obsessive-compulsive personality traits). Conclusions: Problematic use of the Internet as measured by the Internet Addiction Test reflects a quasi-trait - a unipolar dimension in which most variance is restricted to a subset of people with problems regulating Internet use. There was no evidence for subtypes based on the type of online activities engaged in, which increased similarly with overall severity of Internet use problems. Measures of comorbid psychiatric symptoms, along with impulsivity, and compulsivity, appear valuable for differentiating clinical subtypes and could be included in the development of new instruments for assessing the presence and severity of Internet use problems

Portuguese validation of the Internet Addiction Test: An empirical study

Abstract Background and aims Research into Internet addiction (IA) has increased greatly over the last decade. Despite its various definitions and general lack of consensus regarding its conceptualisation amongst researchers, instruments for measuring this phenomenon have proliferated in a number of countries. There has been little research on IA in Portugal and this may be partly due to the absence of standardised measurement tools for assessing IA. Methods This study attempted to address this issue by adapting a Portuguese version of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) via a translation-back translation process and Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a sample of 593 Portuguese students that completed a Portuguese version of the IAT along with questions related to socio-demographic variables. Results The findings suggested that the IAT appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring IA among Portuguese young adults as demonstrated by its satisfactory psychometric properties. However, the present findings also suggest the need to reword and update some of the IAT's items. Prevalence of IA found in the sample was 1.2% and is discussed alongside findings relating to socio-demographic correlates. Limitations and implications of the present study are also discussed. Conclusions The present study calls for a reflection of the IAT while also contributing to a better understanding of the basic aspects of IA in the Portuguese community since many health practitioners are starting to realise that Internet use may pose a risk for some individuals

The Internet Addiction Test in a Young Adult U.S. Population

Internet use has increased rapidly over the past 20 years, accompanied by a growing number of individuals whose Internet use has adverse effects on their lives. Yet no study to date has administered the Young\u27s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) in the United States, nor has the reliability been assessed in a U.S. population. Thus, we aimed to: (a) assess the reliability of the instrument and (b) examine sociodemographic characteristics associated with the Internet addiction score. Participants included young adults 21–28 years of age, the third generation of a 50-year longitudinal cohort, the New England Family Study. The mean weighted kappa across all 20 items of the instrument was 0.45 and the median was 0.46. To examine correlates of the addiction score, we examined age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, partnership status, employment, social support, and depression diagnosis. In the fully adjusted model, those with social support had −3.96 (95% CI: −6.52 to −1.41) lower Internet addiction scores on average compared to those without social support. Also, those with a depression diagnosis had 3.28 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–5.84) higher Internet addiction scores on average compared to those without a depression diagnosis. Study findings suggest that Young\u27s IAT had good reliability in a U.S. young adult population. Therefore, this measure can be a useful tool to measure Internet addiction in young adult populations in the United States. Future studies should examine the potential benefits of social support and depression treatment in Internet addiction among young adults in the United States

A meta-analysis of the reliabilty of young’s internet addiction test

AIM: Currently there are at least 5 scales being used most frequently in studies for diagnosing Internet addiction or problematic Internet use. Moreover there are various studies using each scale mentioning differing reliability coefficients. The most frequently used questionnaire until now is Young’s Internet addiction test (YIAT20). The aim of this study is to produce an overall value for the reliability YIAT20, drawing from a large sample of studies. METHODS: A systematic search of the databases PsycINFO, Medline, EMBASE, Pubmed/Medline, and Google Scholar revealed 20 studies using out of which 11 gave reliability measures. We performed a meta-analysis of the values of Cronbach’s α values mentioned in each study, noted various moderates including sample subgroup (college or pre-college students), sample mean age, sample male percentage, online or offline answering of the questionnaire, and continent of the author’s study. Difference were sought between reliability in various categories while we performed a weighted least squares general linear model to find predictive factors of the variance in YIAT20’s reliability. All analyses were done in PASW 18.0. RESULTS: Eleven studies comprising of a total of 6821 participants were included in the final analysis. The overall Cronbach’s alpha computed from the studies was 0.889 (95% CI 0.884-0.895). The standard deviation of α was low: 0.049. Cronbach’s α was significantly lower in pre-college students [Mean Difference: -0.045 (95% CI-0.057, -0.032)], while Asian studies produced a higher value of Cronbach’s α not reaching significance [Mean Difference: -0.015 (95% CI-0.032, 0.002)]. The weighted least squares general linear model was adequate with R-Squared = 0.504 (Adjusted R-Squared = 0.292). The variable continent proved out to be a significant predictor of the value of reliablity. CONCLUSION: YIAT20 is a frequently used scale to measure Internet addiction. Mean differences showed that it is more reliable in college students and probably in Asia. A general linear model showed that the continent of the study affects significantly the outcome of reliability of the study with reliability decreasing when the continent is Europe. More studies are required to examine which scale is more reliable in pre-college students and in other continents

Markovian-based clustering of internet addiction trajectories

A hidden Markov clustering procedure is applied to a sample of n=185 longitudinal Internet Addiction Test trajectories collected in Switzerland. The best solution has 4 groups. This solution is related to the level of emotional wellbeing of the subjects, but no relation is observed with age, gender and BMI

Internet Addiction among Greek University Students: Demographic Associations with the Phenomenon, Using the Greek Version of Young's Internet Addiction Test

Internet addiction (IA) is a new disorder described in 1996 by the psychologist Kimberly Young. The aim of this paper is to estimate the percentage of IA among Greek university students. Results of a sample survey among 1876 Greek university students, 18-27 years old, are presented. The questionnaire consisted of eight questions from Young’s Diagnostic Test for Internet Addiction (YDTIA) as well as an inventory including demographic factors and questions about academic performance, computer and Internet use. YDTIA had a good reliability and diagnostic accuracy, tested with Cronbach’s alpha (0.71) and sensitivity analysis. Results show that the percentage of IA (5-8 YDTIA criteria) is 11.6%, while problematic Internet users were (3-8 YDTIA criteria) 34.7%. Men were more likely to be addicted to the Internet than women, and Internet addicted students were associated with poorer academic performance. Multiple logistic regression showed that significant predictors of IA included increased hours of daily Internet use, increased hours visiting chat rooms, sex pages and blogs, male gender, divorced status, poor grades, and accessing the Internet outside of the home. The results of this study will allow health officials to recognise students who are Internet addicted or on the verge of becoming addicted and stress risk factors indicating a need for intervention in order to prevent the appearance of IA

The relationship between internet addiction, cyberbullying and parental attitudes

Aim: This descriptive study was conducted in order to determine the relationship between internet addiction, cyberbullying, cyber victimization and parental attitudes towards them. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 550 students attending the ninth grade who volunteered to participate in this study. Consent from the ethical committee, institute and the parents were obtained for this study. Data were collected using the Student Individual Information form, Young's Internet Addiction Test-short form, Cyberbullying scale, Cyber Victimization scale and Parental Attitudes Scale. Results: It was determined that 47.1% of the students had a computer or a tablet and 99.5% of them had a smartphone; 44.9% of the students used a computer once a week, and 57.4% used a smartphone to watch videos or films or to follow social media. There was a positive relationship between Young's Internet Addiction test and the Cyberbullying scale while there was a negative relationship between Internet addiction and cyber victimization (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to these results, educational programs for adolescents and their parents should be developed related to Internet use in adolescents and the risks of addiction, and cyberbullying

Internet addiction: a systematic review of epidemiological research for the last decade

In the last decade, Internet usage has grown tremendously on a global scale. The increasing popularity and frequency of Internet use has led to an increasing number of reports highlighting the potential negative consequences of overuse. Over the last decade, research into Internet addiction has proliferated. This paper reviews the existing 68 epidemiological studies of Internet addiction that (i) contain quantitative empirical data, (ii) have been published after 2000, (iii) include an analysis relating to Internet addiction, (iv) include a minimum of 1000 participants, and (v) provide a full-text article published in English using the database Web of Science. Assessment tools and conceptualisations, prevalence, and associated factors in adolescents and adults are scrutinised. The results reveal the following. First, no gold standard of Internet addiction classification exists as 21 different assessment instruments have been identified. They adopt official criteria for substance use disorders or pathological gambling, no or few criteria relevant for an addiction diagnosis, time spent online, or resulting problems. Second, reported prevalence rates differ as a consequence of different assessment tools and cut-offs, ranging from 0.8% in Italy to 26.7% in Hong Kong. Third, Internet addiction is associated with a number of sociodemographic, Internet use, and psychosocial factors, as well as comorbid symptoms and disorder in adolescents and adults. The results indicate that a number of core symptoms (i.e., compulsive use, negative outcomes and salience) appear relevant for diagnosis, which assimilates Internet addiction and other addictive disorders and also differentiates them, implying a conceptualisation as syndrome with similar etiology and components, but different expressions of addictions. Limitations include the exclusion of studies with smaller sample sizes and studies focusing on specific online behaviours. Conclusively, there is a need for nosological precision so that ultimately those in need can be helped by translating the scientific evidence established in the context of Internet addiction into actual clinical practice