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Further validation of the internet addiction test: Psychometric characteristics in a portuguese university sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

C. Bento ,
A.T. Pereira ,
C. Marques ,
D. Mota  and
A. Macedo
C. Bento
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, coimbra, Portugal
A.T. Pereira*
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, coimbra, Portugal
C. Marques
Affiliation:
Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, coimbra, Portugal
D. Mota
Affiliation:
Cri Psiquiatria, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
A. Macedo
Affiliation:
Cri Psiquiatria, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Faculty Of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) is a 20-item, self-reported questionnaire that measures the presence and severity of Internet addiction which is an increasing problem in adolescents. Although a Portuguese version IAT has been validated in adults, its psychometric properties have never been evaluated before, in adolescents.

Objectives

To analyse the reliability and construct and concurrent validity of the IAT in a Portuguese adolescent sample.

Methods

772 adolescents (53.5% girls), mean aged 13.21±2.246, answered the Portuguese versions of the IAT and the Portuguese versions of validated scales to evaluate: Cyberbullying, Game Addiction, Agressivity and Anxiety, Depression Scales. To study the temporal stability, 377 (60.5% girls) respondents answered the questionnaires again after approximately four-six weeks. The total sample was aleatory splitted to realize the exploratory and the confirmatory factor analyses.

Results

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a second order two-factor structure - “Isolation and Social Commitment” and F2-“Negligence and Functional Commitment”. The χ2/df value was 2.260 and had a significant p value; it had the lowest RMSEA score = .074 (p< .001) and it had the highest TLI (.980) and CFI (.905). IAT mean scores were no different between genders [Girls=29.25±18.775 vs. Boys: 30.85±17.929, p=.405]. The Cronbach’s alphas were > .85. Pearson correlation between the test and the re-test was r=.660. The IAT, video game addiction (r=.434), Cyberbullying (r=.383), anxiety (r=.209) and depression (r=.263) were significantly correlated (p<.001).

Conclusions

The Portuguese IAT has good reliability and validity, showing to be an adequate instrument for measuring Internet Addiction symptoms in Portuguese Adolescents.

Keywords

Internet addictionpsychometric propertiesPortuguese adolescents
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S572
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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