Factor structure for Young's Internet Addiction Test: A confirmatory study

Ludwig M K CHANG*, Sally P M LAW

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    261 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    A number of diagnostic scales have been developed in recent years to assess Internet addiction. To better understand the structure, validity, and reliability of such assessment instruments, Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was evaluated using a confirmatory approach. Data collected through a survey of 410 Hong Kong university undergraduates was subjected to exploratory factor analysis and data from a hold-out sample was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis in order to assess the psychometric properties and factor structure of the IAT scale. Three dimensions, namely, "Withdrawal and Social Problems", "Time Management and Performance", and "Reality Substitute" were extracted. These dimensions were then correlated with a number of criterion variables, including academic performance, online activities, gender, and Internet usage. The results show that academic performance was negatively correlated with the Internet addiction scores. The degree of Internet addiction was also found to vary across different types of online activity, with people engaged in cyberrelationships and online gambling having higher Internet addiction scores.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2597-2619
    Number of pages23
    JournalComputers in Human Behavior
    Volume24
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 17 Sept 2008

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
    • Human-Computer Interaction
    • General Psychology

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Confirmatory factor analysis
    • Internet addiction
    • Young's Internet Addiction Test

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