Assessing the psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) in US college students

Abstract

Internet addiction is a growing concern; however, both a clear understanding of the mechanisms driving problematic behaviors and a gold standard instrument for assessing symptoms are lacking. The purpose of this study was to perform a psychometric analysis of the most widely used screening instrument, the Young Internet Addiction Test (IAT), using a sample of US college students. 215 (70% response rate) undergraduate college students were recruited from two US universities to complete an online version of the IAT. Using exploratory factor analysis, two factors were extracted, “dependent use” and “excessive use” which together explained 91% of the total variance. Participants who scored into the problematic user category of the IAT scored items on the dependent use scale an average of 0.8±1.5 points higher and items on the excessive use scale an average of 1.4±1.5 points higher than participants who scored in the average user category. Results suggest that Internet addiction symptoms may cluster into two separate components, dependent and excessive use. Further, the IAT appears to be a valid instrument for assessing Internet addiction in US college students.

The Short French Internet Addiction Test Adapted to Online Sexual Activities: Validation and Links With Online Sexual Preferences and Addiction Symptoms

“…On the whole, existing validation studies performed on the IAT showed a six-factor solution (Widyanto & McMurran, 2004), a three-factor solution (Chang & Law, 2008), a two-factor solution (Barke, Nyenhuis, & Kröner-Herwig, 2012;Faraci, Craparo, Messina, & Severino, 2013;Jelenchick, Becker, & Moreno, 2012;Korkeila, Kaarlas, Jääskeläinen, Vahlberg, & Taiminen, 2010;Watters, Keefer, Kloosterman, Summerfeldt, & Parker, 2013), or a one-factor solution (Faraci et al, 2013;Khazaal et al, 2008;Korkeila, Kaarlas, Jääskeläinen, Vahlberg, & Taiminen, 2010). The heterogeneity of these results can be attributed to the fact that many studies used this scale in various settings with a diversity of participants (e.g., different ages, nationalities; Faraci et al, 2013).…”

Test–retest: Agreement or reliability?

“…However, the IAT was tested only for temporal reliability, using Pearson's correlation, and not for agreement (e.g. Jelenchick et al, 2012). Consequently, in the context of longitudinal studies aiming at evaluating the evolution of Internet addiction through time, a significant change in the IAT does not necessarily imply a real evolution of the respondents.…”

Conflitos Familiares e Práticas Educativas Parentais como Preditores de Dependência de Internet

“…O Internet Addiction Test -IAT (Young, 1998 -traduzido e adaptado por Conti, et al, 2012) é considerado o primeiro instrumento para a avaliação da dependência de internet e encontra-se adaptado para diversos idiomas, incluindo o português (Conti, et al, 2012;Jelenchick, Megan, & Moreno, 2012;Widyanto & McMurran, 2004). É autoadministrado, formado por 20 itens, que medem a extensão do envolvimento com o computador e classifica a dependência em termos de prejuízo, incluindo o grau em que o uso da internet afeta a rotina diária, a vida social, a produtividade e o padrão de sono do indivíduo (Conti, et al, 2012;Young & Abreu, 2011;Widyanto & McMurran, 2004).…”