Assessing the Psychometric Properties of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) Among Lebanese College Students

Abstract

Internet addiction is an emergent problem; yet, both a strong conception of the factors precipitating challenging activities and a gold standard tool for evaluating symptoms are deficient. The aim of this study was to carry out a psychometric analysis using the most commonly employed screening tool, the young Internet Addiction Test (IAT), comprising a sample of Lebanese University medical students. Two hundred and fifty-six undergraduate medical students from a university in Beirut, Lebanon were included in our IAT. Exploratory factor analysis was employed, and four factors were extracted. These four factors were named as Lack of Control, Social Withdrawal and Emotional Conflict, Time Management Problems, and Concealing Problematic Behavior. Furthermore, the selected factors explained 56.5% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the internal reliability of the scale was found to be 0.91. For each subscale, the internal consistency score was approximated and detected as 0.76, 0.74, 0.69, and 0.63 for the first through fourth factor, respectively. Item total correlations were calculated and had a value range from 0.37 to 0.63 for the 20 items. IAT is a proper tool for evaluating internet addiction in Lebanese college students.

The Social Media and Technology Addiction and Its Associated Factors among University Students in Lebanon Using the Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale (MTUAS)

“…Finally, females were more prevalent in our sample as in higher education in Lebanon [34], in most European countries [35]. A similar pattern was observed in a sample of medical students in India [27] and in Lebanon [16] where the percentage of females was respectively 70.5% and 63.4%. However, in Lebanon, the gender ratio varied by university and academic discipline.…”

“…Their sample was 668 random Lebanese undergraduate students at one private university, recruited from the pool of "Natural Sciences". Samaha et al [16] assessed the psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) among 256 medical students enrolled from a private university in Lebanon.…”

Attachment style and addictions (alcohol, cigarette, waterpipe and internet) among Lebanese adolescents: a national study

“…The total score varied between 20 and 100, with higher scores defining higher internet addiction (α Cronbach in this study = 0.925). This scale has previously been validated among Lebanese adolescents [76].…”

Validation Study of the Indonesian Internet Addiction Test among Adolescents

“…Scores obtained from the IAT are grouped into four categories: normal (0-30), mild IA (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49), moderate IA (50-79), and severe IA (80-100). The IAT has been widely translated and validated by various countries and has proved to consist of good internal validation values [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”