Development and validation of the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI).

Terry B. J. Kuo,Hsien-Wei Tseng,Yu-Hsuan Lin,Jeremy Miles,Yang-Han Lee,Li-Ren Chang,Sue-Huei Chen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098312

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to develop a self-administered scale based on the special features of smartphone. The reliability and validity of the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) was demonstrated.MethodsA total of 283 participants were recruited from Dec. 2012 to Jul. 2013 to complete a set of questionnaires, including a 26-item SPAI modified from the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale and phantom vibration and ringing syndrome questionnaire. There were 260 males and 23 females, with ages 22.9±2.0 years. Exploratory factor analysis, internal-consistency test, test-retest, and correlation analysis were conducted to verify the reliability and validity of the SPAI. Correlations between each subscale and phantom vibration and ringing were also explored.ResultsExploratory factor analysis yielded four factors: compulsive behavior, functional impairment, withdrawal and tolerance. Test–retest reliabilities (intraclass correlations = 0.74–0.91) and internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.94) were all satisfactory. The four subscales had moderate to high correlations (0.56–0.78), but had no or very low correlation to phantom vibration/ringing syndrome.ConclusionThis study provides evidence that the SPAI is a valid and reliable, self-administered screening tool to investigate smartphone addiction. Phantom vibration and ringing might be independent entities of smartphone addiction.

Highlights

The overuse of smartphones has emerged as a significant social issue with growing popularity of the smartphone. ‘‘Smartphone addiction’’ could be considered as one form of technological addictions
This study examined the reliability and verified the construct validity of the new-established Smartphone Addiction Inventory
The p-value of the Bartlett test was less than 0.001, which indicated that factor analysis was appropriate

Summary

Introduction

The overuse of smartphones has emerged as a significant social issue with growing popularity of the smartphone. ‘‘Smartphone addiction’’ could be considered as one form of technological addictions. A similar behavior pattern, Internet addiction, has been categorized as a type of ‘‘substance related and addictive disorder’’ in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) [2]. It is conceivable the non-substance addictions are conceptualized from the diagnostic criteria for established substance addictions to provide both a bio-psycho-social context and a direction for a comprehensive model of addiction [3,4]. A recent study explored six factors in smartphone addiction [6] It suggested that smartphone addiction should be conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct. More psychometric testing is warranted to test the construct validity of the instruments for Smartphone addiction

Methods

Results

Conclusion