The Development of a Short Version of the Internet Addiction Test: The IAT-7

Abstract

Using a valid and reliable scale to measure problems associated with excessive internet use is a key element of research on internet addiction (IA). The main goal of the current study was to develop a brief version of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the most widely used measure for assessing IA. In Study 1 (N = 463), we combined strict analytic techniques for item reduction with an evaluation of item content, and we compared several CFA and ESEM Models. In Study 2 (N = 374), we applied a Latent Variable Model (LMV) to examine the associations between our proposed short scale and some related variables. Our findings suggested a 7-item version (named IAT-7), with an ESEM structure and two domain specific factors (F1: Interpersonal, Emotional and Obsessive Conflict; F2: Online Time Management). The IAT-7 showed excellent fit-indices [χ2 = 13.373; df = 8; CFI = .994; TLI = .983; RMSEA = .030 (.000–.073); SRMR = .016; AIC = 9,276.944; BIC = 9,388.662; aBIC = 9,302.971] and an adequate level of internal consistency (alpha and omega > .752). Interpersonal, Emotional and Obsessive Conflict mainly predicted loneliness and depression, whereas Online Time Management was primarily associated with stress, followed by depression. The IAT-7 shows promising psychometric properties and could be used as a screening tool for evaluating IA. Its small number of items makes it more attractive when a large battery of assessment scales is used.