Internet Addiction of Greek Adolescent High School Students: Validity and Reliability Evidence and Relationship to Depressive Symptoms and Physical Activity

Abstract

Objective: The present study was designed to examine: a) the validity and reliability evidence of the Chen Internet Addiction Scale - CIAS for a sample of Greek secondary students and b) the association to physical activity and depressive symptoms. Methods: The initial sample consisted of 863 public school students, aged 13 to 19 years old, while the final sample consisted of 654 students. All students attended three public junior high schools and four senior high schools in Athens, Greece. The participants completed four questionnaires concerning internet addiction symptoms (CIAS), depressive symptoms (CES-D), physical activity level (PAQ-A) and social desirability (SDS). Specifically, construct validity, concurrent validity, face validity, internal consistency and stability across time of the CIAS were examined. Results: Adolescents with a tendency to experience internet addiction (IA) exhibited higher depressive symptoms and lower engagement to physical activity (PA) compared to adolescents without the tendency for IA. There was a significant positive correlation between CIAS with CES-D and hours of daily internet use. Significant negative correlation was found between CIAS and PAQ-A. In addition, hours of daily use, engagement in PA and depression were significant predictors of IA. Females engaged mainly in social networks, while males engaged in both social networks and games. Concerning the reliability of the CIAS subfactors and the total score, the internal consistency and stability across time were acceptable. Conclusion: Overall, the adapted in Greek CIAS provided validity and reliability evidence and may be used to assess IA in Greekadolescents.