Psychometric Properties of the Revised Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R) in Chinese Adolescents

Abstract

The Revised Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R) was developed to assess Internet addiction in Chinese populations, but its psychometric properties in adolescents have not been examined. This study aimed to evaluate the factor structure and psychometric properties of CIAS-R in Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. 860 Grade 7 to 13 students (38 % boys) completed the CIAS-R, the Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents (HoNOSCA) in a survey. The prevalence of Internet addiction as assessed by CIAS-R was 18 %. High internal consistency and inter-item correlations were reported for the CIAS-R. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis suggested a four-factor structure of Compulsive Use and Withdrawal, Tolerance, Interpersonal and Health-related Problems, and Time Management Problems. Moreover, results of hierarchical multiple regression supported the incremental validity of the CIAS-R to predict mental health outcomes beyond the effects of demographic differences and self-reported time spent online. The CIAS is a reliable and valid measure of internet addiction problems in Hong Kong adolescents. Future study is warranted to validate the cutoffs of the CIAS-R for identification of adolescents with Internet use problems who may have mental health needs.

Incidence and predictive factors of Internet addiction among Chinese secondary school students in Hong Kong: a longitudinal study

“…The baseline IA prevalence was quite high (about 16%), and is comparable to that reported by some local studies also using CIAS for assessment [7,26]. At baseline, about 30 and 20% of all students, disregarding their IA status, spent ≥21 h per week on online non-school entertainment or social interactions, respectively.…”

“…The scale has been validated among Chinese adolescents [26] and used in a number of published studies [15][16][17]19]. Its items assess levels of IA-related core symptoms, such as tolerance, withdrawal, compulsive use, time management issues, and health problems.…”

How Has Internet Addiction Research Evolved Since the Advent of Internet Gaming Disorder? An Overview of Cyberaddictions from a Psychological Perspective

“…First, the best items for an IA scale were selected by using psychometric techniques such as item response analysis [74] and careless and random responding [75]. Second, the psychometric properties (dimensionality, reliability, and validity) were tested for several IA scales, including the IAT [76][77][78], which showed an inconsistent factor structure, and the Revised Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R) [79], the only one clinically validated. Third, many studies with cultural adaptations were published, such as the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ) in French [80] and the IAT in Portuguese [81] and Greek [82].…”

Uso Pessoal das Tecnologias no Trabalho: Motivadores e Efeitos à Distração Profissional

“…A tolerância, quando referida a uma dependência de uso de algum artefato viciante, está associada à quantidade de utilização de um determinado objeto orientada à obtenção de um efeito positivo desejado. Por exemplo, sensações de satisfação, prazer ou conforto (Ko et al, 2005;Mak, Lai, Ko, & Ho, 2014). Sabe-se que a busca por sensações positivas pode levar à perda de controle sobre a utilização desses recursos digitais (Young, , 2009 Relacionamento social e comprometimento profissional, e seus reflexos no Uso Pessoal da TI no Trabalho Há estudos que mostram que aspectos sociais promovem o uso excessivo de Tecnologias de Informação sob duas frentes: a busca do conforto social pela manutenção dos relacionamentos nas redes de contato do usuário (Caplan, 2002;Davis et al, 2002), mas também a presença de vínculos socioafetivos fracos com os pares presenciais do usuário.…”

“…Esquematicamente, o modelo de pesquisa e a síntese de seus resultados são representados conforme a Figura 2. No entanto, os resultados obtidos mostram que o Conforto Online não se mostrou como um fator que promovesse o Uso Pessoal das Tecnologias na jornada de trabalho, embora existam diversos estudos que mostram que o Conforto Online seja um fator que motive a utilização de tecnologias (Ko et al, 2005;Mak et al, 2014). Uma possível explicação da falta de significância do Conforto Online com o Uso Pessoal da TI no Trabalho pode ser a presença de uma relação de mediação plena do Controle Reduzido de Impulso entre a associação do Conforto Online e o Uso Pessoal da TI no Trabalho.…”