Development and psychometric properties of the problematic mobile video gaming scale

Abstract

This study aimed to develop the Problematic Mobile Video Gaming Scale (PMVGS) and test its reliability and validity in two samples. Sample 1 contained 578 junior high school students, and Sample 2 contained 1501 college students. The data from Sample 1 was examined using exploratory factor analysis to define the factorial structure of the scale. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, a three-factor structure (withdrawal symptoms, mood modification, and conflict) composed of 11 items was obtained, which explained 66.25% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis was then performed to confirm that factorial structure using data from Sample 2; the obtained fit indices confirmed the second-order three-factor structure, indicating good construct validity. We used depression, loneliness, social anxiety, and game usage time to evaluate the scale’s criterion-related validity, and significant correlations between PMVGS and these criterion variables were revealed. The scores of the PMVGS and the Excessive Online Gaming Scale, which have similar structures, were strongly correlated, suggesting that the PMVGS has good convergent validity. The moderate correlation between the scores of the PMVGS and the Mobile Phone Addiction Index scale, which have different structures, indicates that the PMVGS has good discriminant validity. Further, the scale has a high level of internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of .84 and .91 for the two samples. Thus, the PMVGS has good reliability and validity, and is an effective and reliable tool for assessing problematic mobile video gaming.