Abstract
Objectives: The nine-item Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ-9) is a brief self-report screening instrument for problematic internet use. The main objective of the present study was to explore the psychometric properties of the PIUQ-9 among nine different language-based samples of European internet users (Italian, German, French, Polish, Turkish, Hungarian, English, and Greek).Methods: The total sample comprised 5,593 internet users (38.1% men), aged between 18 and 87 years (M = 25.81; SD = 8.61). Via online recruitment, participants completed the PIUQ-9, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and items about time spent online.Results: Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the bifactor model with one general factor (i.e., general problem) and two-specific factors (i.e., obsession and neglect + control disorder) yielded acceptable or good fit indices in all subsamples except for one. The common variance index in the bifactor model indicated that the general problem factor explained from 57.0 to 76.5% of common variance, which supports the presence of a strong global factor. According to the multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model, psychiatric symptoms had a moderate-to-strong direct effect on the general problem factor in all subsamples, ranging from β = 0.28 to β = 0.52 supporting the construct validity of the scale. Furthermore, in a majority of the subsamples, time spent online during the weekend had considerably higher effect sizes on the general problem factor than time spent online during weekdays.Conclusion: The present study highlights the appropriate psychometric properties of the PIUQ-9 across a number of European languages and cultures.
Highlights
Internet addiction or problematic internet use (PIU) have both been defined as an excessive and/or inappropriate use of the internet which can lead to psychological, social, academic, and/or professional difficulties among a small minority of users and which shows high comorbidity with other mental disorders [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the bifactor model with one general factor and two-specific factors yielded acceptable or good fit indices in all subsamples except for one
The common variance index in the bifactor model indicated that the general problem factor explained from 57.0 to 76.5% of common variance, which supports the presence of a strong global factor
Summary
Internet addiction or problematic internet use (PIU) have both been defined as an excessive and/or inappropriate use of the internet which can lead to psychological, social, academic, and/or professional difficulties among a small minority of users and which shows high comorbidity with other mental disorders [1,2,3,4,5,6]. PIU has not been consensually recognized as an official disorder and it lacks a consensual definition and agreed upon diagnostic criteria despite the recent introduction of Internet Gaming Disorder in the third section of the (fifth) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM-5; [7]] and Gaming Disorder in the most recent 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases [ICD-11; [8]]. A significant number of PIU definitions and diagnostic criteria are based on these two disorders [9,10,11,12]. Research has found that psychopathology, operationalized using the Global Severity Index, as well as dysfunctional coping strategies, are predictive of addictive internet use [17]
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