Psychiatry Investig. 2018 Apr;15(4):361-369. doi: 10.30773/pi.2017.09.27.2. Epub 2018 Mar 26.
Lee HK1, Lee HW2, Han JH3, Park S4, Ju SJ5, Choi K1, Lee JH1, Jeon HJ1,6,7.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Concerns over behavioral and emotional problems caused by excessive internet usage have been developed. This study intended to develop and a standardize questionnaire that can efficiently identify at-risk internet users through their internet usage habits.
METHODS:
Participants (n=158) were recruited at six I-will-centers located in Seoul, South Korea. From the initial 36 questionnaire item pool, 28 preliminary items were selected through expert evaluation and panel discussions. The construct validity, internal consistency, and concurrent validity were examined. We also conducted Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) analysis to assess diagnostic ability of the Internet Overuse Screening-Questionnaire (IOS-Q).
RESULTS:
The exploratory factor analysis yielded a five factor structure. Four factors with 17 items remained after items that had unclear factor loading were removed. The Cronbach’s alpha for the IOS-Q total score was 0.91, and test-retest reliability was 0.72. The correlation between Young’s internet addiction scale and K-scale supported concurrent validity. ROC analysis showed that the IOS-Q has superior diagnostic ability with the Area Under the Curve of 0.87. At the cut-off point of 25.5, the sensitivity was 0.93 and specificity was 0.86.
CONCLUSION:
Overall, this study supports the use of IOS-Q for internet addiction research and for screening high-risk individuals.
KEYWORDS:
Behavioral addiction; Cut-off; Problematic internet use; Scale validation; Screening
PMID: 29669406
PMCID: PMC5912483
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