Factorial validity of problematic Internet use scales

There exists a number of multidimensional measurement scales for problematic Internet use (PIU) with varying factor structures. This study reviews the factor analytic techniques used to develop these measures and discusses their implications for the factorial validity, particularly discriminant validity, of these PIU scales. To further illustrate these points, we reformulate the four-factor Online Cognition Scale into a more parsimonious two-factor measure (i.e., dependency and distraction) and demonstrate its factorial validity as well as robustness across student and working adult samples. Contributions of this research are discussed.     

Problematic Internet use or Internet addiction?

The aim of this paper is to review the gradually evolving body of the literature on Internet addiction. Two schools of thought have emerged: those authors who believe that Internet addiction merits classification as a new or emerging psychiatric disorder in its own right, and those who define certain individuals as having problematic Internet use in relation to specific online activities, such as gambling, email or pornography. Despite a total lack of methodologically sound research, the evidence appears to support the second perspective. It appears that individuals who are premorbidly vulnerable, especially with a history of impulse control and addictive disorders, are especially at risk of using the Internet in a problematic way. Aside from the personal and social implications of this finding, this behavior has important implications for the workplace and may be resulting in substantial loss of productivity in companies who are not implementing Internet governance policies.     

Theory and measurement of generalized problematic Internet use: A two-step approach

This study tested an updated cognitive-behavioral model of generalized problematic Internet use and reports results of a confirmatory analysis of the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS2). Overall, the results indicated that a preference for online social interaction and use of the Internet for mood regulation, predict deficient self-regulation of Internet use (i.e., compulsive Internet use and a cognitive preoccupation with the Internet). In turn, deficient self-regulation was a significant predictor of the extent to which one’s Internet use led to negative outcomes. Results indicated the model fit the data well and variables in the model accounted for 27% of the variance in mood regulation scores, 65% of variance in participants’ deficient self-regulation scores, and 61% of variance in the negative outcome scores.     

Cross-lagged relationships between problematic Internet use and lifestyle changes

Cross-lagged analysis of panel survey data collected from Taiwanese college students (initially 387 males and 370 females) was used to examine the temporal relationship between problematic Internet use (PIU) and lifestyle changes during the first year in college. We hypothesized that a reciprocal relationship might exist between PIU and lifestyle changes. Structural equation modeling was adopted to test several nested cross-lagged relationship models. The results showed that four measures of lifestyle changes and PIU were moderately to highly stable across one year. Moreover, PIU in freshman year predicted negative changes in lifestyle in the following year, including a reduction of physical and social activities, irregular diet and unhealthy sleep. Lifestyle changes in freshman year, in contrast, did not predict PIU in sophomore year; the hypothesized reciprocal relationship between PIU and lifestyle changes was not warranted. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

Stressful life events and problematic Internet use by adolescent females and males: A mediated moderation model

In a sample of 660 adolescents (M age = 14.14 years; 55% females), this study examined a mediated moderation model in which temperamental effortful control and sensation seeking moderated the relationship between stressful life events and problematic Internet use (PIU), and this moderating effect was mediated by maladaptive cognitions. Findings revealed that effortful control buffered the risk of stressful life events for females’ PIU, and this effect was mediated through maladaptive cognitions. The risk-buffering effect of effortful control for males’ PIU was not significant, although it buffered the risk of maladaptive cognitions for PIU. The risk-enhancing effect of sensation seeking was not significant in both female and male adolescents. In addition, males scored higher on risks but lower on protective factors of PIU than females, which explain the gender difference in PIU. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Exploring depression and problematic internet use among college females: A multisite study

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to assess associations between depression and problematic internet use (PIU) among female college students, and determine whether Internet use time moderates this relationship.MethodThis cross-sectional survey included 265 female college students from four U.S. universities. Students completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Problematic and Risky Internet Use Screening Scale (PRIUSS) and self-reported daily Internet use. Analyses included multivariate analysis of variance and Poisson regression.ResultsParticipants reported mean age of 20.2 years (SD = 1.7) and were 84.9% Caucasian. The mean PHQ-9 score was 5.4 (SD = 4.6); the mean PRIUSS score was 16.4 (SD = 11.1). Participants’ risk for PIU increased by 27% with each additional 30 min spent online using a computer (RR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.14–1.42, p < .0001). Risk for PIU was significantly increased among those who met criteria for severe depression (RR = 8.16 95% CI: 4.27–15.6, p < .0001). The PHQ-9 items describing trouble concentrating, psychomotor dysregulation and suicidal ideation were most strongly associated with PIU risk.ConclusionsThe positive relationship between depression and PIU among female college students supports screening for both conditions, particularly among students reporting particular depression symptoms.     

Temperament and adolescent problematic Internet use: The mediating role of deviant peer affiliation

Problematic Internet use (PIU) creates psychological, social, school and/or work difficulties in a person's life. This study examined the unique roles of four dimensions of temperament (effortful control, sensation seeking, anger/frustration, and shyness) on adolescent PIU, as well as the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation (DPA) on these pathways. Participants were 2758 Chinese adolescents (46% male; mean age = 13.53 years, SD = 1.06) selected by stratified and random cluster sampling from 10 middle schools in southern China. After covariates were controlled, structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated that effortful control negatively predicted PIU, while sensation seeking, anger/frustration and shyness positively predicted PIU. SEM also identified that DPA partially mediated the pathway from all four temperament dimensions to PIU. These findings provide evidence for the relationship between specific temperament dimensions and adolescent PIU, and highlight DPA as one explanation for the prevalence of PIU.     

Online flow experiences,problematic Internet use and Internet procrastination

This study explores the theoretical and practical overlap between online procrastination, problematic Internet use, and flow on the Internet. At the theoretical level there is a great deal of interrelatedness between these three concepts (for example, all three concepts deal with the issue of a lack of control over time spent online and acknowledge the distracting and entertaining properties of the Internet); yet, one can also argue that the concepts are theoretically distinct (for example, flow is a total absorption in the work at hand, whereas procrastination is the avoidance of the work at hand). All three concepts have been used to describe either desirable (flow) or undesirable (procrastination and problematic Internet use) states when online. In this study a sample of 1399 Internet users was obtained from a survey placed on a South African online information technology magazine. Using the problematic Internet use questionnaire (PIUQ), the distraction subscale of the online cognition scale (OCS), and a modified version of the Flow scale it was found that there were strong positive relationships between all three variables (the strongest relationship being between problematic Internet use and online procrastination). The results also suggested that procrastination may be a connector between PIU and flow; also that PIU is a connector between procrastination and flow, but that flow is independent of the relationship between PIU and procrastination. These results are discussed in relation to previous studies on problematic Internet use and in particular, whether these relationships are unique to respondents involved in the information technology sector.     

Problematic Internet use in British adolescents: An exploration of the addictive symptomatology

Research into online addictions has increased substantially over the last decade, particularly amongst youth. This study adapted the Problematic Internet Entertainment Use Scale for Adolescents [PIEUSA] for use with a British population. The adapted scale was used to (i) validate the instrument for English-speaking adolescent samples, (ii) estimate the prevalence of adolescent online problem users and describe their profile, and (iii) assess the accuracy of the scale’s classification of symptomatology. A survey was administered to 1097 adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years. The results indicated that (i) reliability of the adapted scale was excellent; factor validity showed unidimensionality, and construct validity was adequate. The findings also indicated that (ii) prevalence of online problem users was 5.2% and that they were more likely to younger males that engaged in online gaming for more than two hours most days. The majority of online problem users displayed negative addictive symptoms, especially ‘loss of control’ and ‘conflict’. The adapted scale showed (iii) very good sensitivity, specificity, and classification accuracy, and was able to clearly differentiate between problem and non-problem users. The results suggest certain differences between adolescent and adult online problem users based in the predominance of slightly different psychological components.     

Life satisfaction and family functions as-predictors of problematic Internet use in university students

One goal of this research was to analyze problematic Internet use in university students according to such variables as gender, grade point average, satisfaction with one’s department, mother’s/father’s education level, smoking, alcohol consumption, gambling behavior, relationship between parents, length of Internet use, amount of time spent on the Internet daily, and using the Internet for academic purposes. Another goal was to analyze family functioning and life satisfaction as predictors of problematic Internet use in university students. The study sample comprised 663 university students from Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir. The Problematic Internet Use Scale, Family Evaluation Scale, Life Satisfaction Scale, and a questionnaire requesting demographic information were administered. The results revealed that the family functioning dimensions of problem solving, roles, and behavioral control, as well as gender, age, gambling behavior, perception of the relationship between one’s parents, number of years of Internet use, amount of time spent on the Internet daily, and using the Internet for academic purposes explained 48% of the total variance in Internet use. There was also a significant relationship between university students’ life satisfaction and total Internet use, rate of Internet overuse, and the social benefits and negative consequences of Internet use.     

Internet use and parental mediation: A cross-cultural study

The aim of this research project was to analyze the relationship between Internet use and parental mediation in a cross-cultural sample group. It also aimed to explore the relationship between parental mediation in Internet use and television viewing. The sample group comprised 1238 adolescents aged between 14 and 19, from eight different cultural contexts. The television viewing habits questionnaire (CH-TV.02) was used to analyze the following indicators: reason for use and hours spent on the Internet, parental mediation in Internet use and parental mediation in television viewing. The data were collected both by means of an online platform and in person. The results show a moderate use of the Internet with context-based variations, although the communicative function was predominant in all cultural contexts studied. Although significant differences were found between the different contexts, they were moderate in nature and should be interpreted with caution, given the size of the sample. In relation to parental mediation in Internet use, an exploratory factorial analysis found three types of mediation, with restrictive mediation and co-viewing being particularly relevant. As regards the profiles found, a Cluster analysis identified four profiles in the group of young people studied: instructive, inhibited, co-viewing and restrictive, with the inhibited profile being the one most frequently perceived by adolescents, followed by co-viewing, with significant differences being observed between cultures. Differences were observed in parental mediation in Internet use and television viewing in accordance with the medium in question and the context, a finding which may indicate that parents find it harder to engage in instructive mediation and co-viewing in relation to the Internet, since it is a medium that is less ergonomic and user-friendly than television.     

Internet use and psychological well-being among college students: A latent profile approach

Studies of correlations between Internet use and psychological well-being (PW) have produced mixed results. The present study used a latent profile analysis to distinguish among populations in terms of PW profiles, and then used a multinomial logistic regression to determine how online entertainment, social use, problematic Internet use (PIU), and gender predicted each latent PW profile. The initial sample consisted of 757 Taiwanese college freshmen. Four ordered latent groups were established as follows: good PW, normative, minor-disadvantageous, and severe-disadvantageous. No latent PW profile stability was found in subsequent years: three groups (normative, minor-disadvantageous and severe-disadvantageous) emerged in Year 2, and only one group emerged in Year 3. The results indicate (a) no relationship between PW and online entertainment or gender, (b) greater PIU increased the likelihood of disadvantageous PW and decreased the probability of good PW, and (c) greater use of online resources for social purposes was related to increased probability of a participant being in the good PW group, but not associated with fewer PW problems.     

Low self-directedness is a better predictor for problematic internet use than high neuroticism

The classification of internet addiction as a distinct diagnosis in the upcoming DSM-V is currently under debate. Nevertheless, before this issue is resolved, there are important related questions in the field of internet addiction that are in need of an answer, e.g. which personality dimensions may predispose towards problematic internet use. One such factor seems to be neuroticism. However, a sole factor like neuroticism alone is not very useful with respect to generating implications for behavior therapy and treatment of afflicted patients, because it includes too many facets of negative personality traits ranging from shyness to anxiety. Therefore, in this study we aimed to measure the grade of problematic internet use with the internet addiction test (IAT); moreover, we measured personality with Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R) and with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). In addition to the EPQ-R, the TCI provides further information with respect to which facets of personality are associated with problematic internet use. In N = 201 participants, we found that self-directedness is a better predictor than neuroticism for problematic internet use. Moreover, the time spent online in leisure activities was a significant predictor for a high IAT score. Implications for behavior therapy are discussed.     

Social relationship on problematic Internet use (PIU) among adolescents in South Korea: A moderated mediation model of self-esteem and self-control

Despite previous research efforts on identifying the risk and protective factors of problematic Internet use (PIU), the specific mechanism among these factors are largely unknown. Thus, the present study examined the effect of adolescents’ social relationships on their PIU, as well as the effect of self-esteem as a mediator and the effect of self-control as a moderator. Survey data from 750 South Korean middle and high school students in Seoul and Gyeonggi areas were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results are as follows. First, PIU is significantly associated with relationship with peers and with mother. Second, self-esteem did not mediate the effect of communication with mother on PIU, but was found to partially mediate the effect of peer relationship on PIU. Third, adolescents’ self-control significantly moderated the indirect effect of peer relationship on PIU via self-esteem. Through detailed analyses, this study identified self-esteem as a mediator and self-control as a moderator in the relationship between social relationships and PIU. Implications of these results for understanding the relationship among social relationships, self-esteem, self-control, and PIU are discussed.     

Understanding adolescents’ problematic Internet use from a social/cognitive and addiction research framework

As Internet usage has become more prevalent among youth, so too has problematic Internet use. Despite the critical role of emotion regulation in the development of adolescents’ behaviors and the role of parenting interactions on their children’s behaviors, little research has examined these links with reference to problematic and addictive Internet use for adolescents. The main goal of this study was to examine these links, based on a sample of 525 high school students (368 males; M = 15.33 years, SD = 0.47) from a predominantly middle and lower-middle socioeconomic community in Seoul, Korea. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that students’ difficulties in emotion regulation was a mediating variable between students’ perceptions of their parents’ parenting behaviors and the students’ Internet use. The findings substantiate the importance of conceptualizing addiction from a social/cognitive theoretical framework and the notion that adolescence is the onset period for many addictive behaviors and so more proactive attention needs to be given to reducing these early negative behaviors. Based on these results, interventions designed to enhance adolescents’ emotion regulatory abilities have the likelihood to mitigate problematic and even addictive Internet use among youth.     

Problematic Internet use: Functions of use,cognitive absorption,and depression

Although researchers have studied problematic Internet use for almost a decade, there is a dearth of quantitative models to describe this phenomenon. We aimed to create a structural equation model by which we explored the extent to which the functions of the Internet use, cognitive absorption, and depression affected and explained an individual’s problematic Internet use. In 2011 and 2012 years, 244 high school students (117 boys and 127 girls) participated in this study to complete the Problematic Internet Use Scale, the Cognitive Absorption Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Internet Use Function Questionnaire. We found that the students’ functions of Internet use, cognitive absorption, and depression explained the problematic Internet use to some extent.     

Toward a comprehensive theory of problematic Internet use: Evaluating the role of self-esteem,anxiety, flow,and the self-rated importance of Internet activities

Problematic Internet use (PIU) has long been a matter of public concern. Study 1 examined the correlates of a well-validated measure of Internet addiction [Young, K. S. (1998). Caught in the net. New York: John Wiley and Sons] with 315 students (39% male). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that low self-esteem, unrealistic optimism, and the importance of 7-positive activities (I7PA) all contributed to the prediction of PIU. The inclusion of controls for aspects of Internet uses and demographic characters showed a clear distinction between PIU and frequent Internet use. Subjects who anticipated that negative outcomes were more likely to happen to them than to peers were none-the-less more likely to engage in PIU. The more important positive activities were, the greater the PIU. SEM model suggested that unrealistic optimism was best treated as part of PIU and that low self-esteem and the I7PA were the powerful predictors of PIU. Study 2 tested SEM models of psychosocial characteristics with 279 students (48% male). Anxiety and flow were added as predictors and the felt safety for social contacts was added to Global PIU following Caplan [Caplan, S. E. (2002). Problematic Internet use and psychosocial well-being: Development of a theory-based cognitive-behavioral measurement instrument. Computers in Human Behavior, 18, 553–575]. The more complex model provided excellent fit and showed that low self-esteem, anxiety, and the I7PA were positively related to PIU. The relationship both of flow and sensation-seeking was mediated by the 17PA. Research on the topic has been relatively atheoretical. We propose a theoretical template to guide future research on PIU.     

A latent profile analysis of the interplay between PC and smartphone in problematic internet use

As modern-day adolescents use the Internet on both personal computer (PC) and smartphone, this study examined the phenomenon of problematic internet use by taking account of Internet usage on both PC and smartphone together, based on the theoretical framework of substitution/complementarity of media use. For this, latent profile analysis, nonlinear canonical correlation analysis, and logistic/probit regression analyses were performed on 653 Korean adolescents. Latent profile analysis identified six classes of distinct problematic internet use patterns. In brief, two latent classes showed substituting patterns, two other classes showed complementing patterns, and the last two showed neither. According to nonlinear canonical correlation analysis, classification by latent profile analysis was mainly associated with individual variables such as ‘PC game,’ ‘instant messaging,’ ‘gender,’ and ‘decreased PC usage time.’ Further, logistic/probit regression analyses revealed that male adolescents were more likely to be included in the complementation class, because they played PC games more than female adolescents. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.     

Problematic internet use among older adolescents: A conceptual framework

Problematic internet use (PIU) is of growing significance to adolescent health, but lacks a strong conceptual framework to guide ongoing work. We used Concept Mapping methodology to construct a theoretical framework describing PIU. This validated approach includes five steps: preparation, generation (brainstorming), structuring (sort and rank), representation (statistical analysis) and interpretation (focus groups). Analysis included hierarchical cluster analysis over the overall square similarity matrix to determine a cluster map. A total of 193 college students participated in one or more phases of the study. Students were from 13 universities across 10 states, had an average age of 19.4 years (SD = 1.8), were 67% female and 77% Caucasian. A total of 20 health professionals participated. The seven clusters depicted on the PIU Concept Map include: psychosocial risk factors, physical impairment, emotional impairment, social/functional impairment, risky internet use, impulsive internet use and internet use dependence. The stress value for the fit of the multidimensional solution to the structuring data was 0.28, indicating adequate fit. The concept map may be used towards development of a future comprehensive model of PIU as well as scale development efforts.     

The influence of juvenile preference for online social interaction on problematic Internet use: The moderating effect of sibling condition and the moderated moderating effect of age cohort

Previous studies have demonstrated that the preference for online social interaction (POSI) is one of the most important factors affecting problematic Internet use (PIU). As self-worth orientation theory suggests, however, only-child could buffer the effect of POSI on PIU, given the fact that children without siblings (the only-child) typically enjoy more resources from parents than do children with siblings. As children grow, particularly after school age, they would become more susceptible to the peers' influence than parents'. Thus, the buffering effect of only-child would decrease along with age due to the lessening effect of parents. To examine the moderating effect of sibling condition (only-child vs. children with siblings) and moderated moderating effect of age cohort (adolescent vs. emerging adult) on the relationship between POSI and PIU, we collected data from 12,051 Chinese students and measured their POSI, PIU, sibling condition, age and other demographics. The results showed that (a) the PIU score of only-child was significantly lower than that of children with siblings; (b) the POSI significantly predicted the PIU; (c) sibling condition moderated the relationship between POSI and PIU, and age cohort further moderated the moderation of sibling condition; (d) age cohort moderated the relationship between POSI and PIU. The implications for the prevention of Internet addictive behaviors among adolescents were discussed.