A repeat cross-sectional analysis of the psychometric properties of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) with adolescents from public and private schools

Abstract

The development and validation of compulsive Internet use instruments has recently gained the attention of the research community. Recent literature has recommended examining the psychometric properties of different assessment instruments with diverse user groups, cultures and populations. To address this need, the present study examined the psychometric properties of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) with adolescent Internet users attending public and private schools, using a repeated cross-sectional study. Three studies were carried out, namely Study A (n = 2369), Study B (n = 997) and Study C (n = 274), the results of which suggest that CIUS possesses excellent factorial and construct validity and reliability across time, and is suitable for both public and private school attending adolescents. Additionally, the study examined the powers of demographics and technology accessibility attributes in predicting CIUS among adolescent Internet users over time. It was found that male adolescents with low life satisfaction and low academic performance tend to experience compulsive Internet use; personal mobile Internet access and daily time spent on Internet use also significantly predicted CIUS scores. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are presented.