Internet Addiction Test (IAT): which is the best factorial solution?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychometrics
• Digital Health

Background:

• The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) is a widely used tool for diagnosing internet addiction.
• Previous research on the IAT's factor structure has yielded inconsistent results, lacking consensus on its optimal configuration.
• Understanding the psychometric properties and factor structure of the IAT is crucial for accurate assessment of internet addiction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT).
• To test the stability of the IAT's factor structure across different cultural contexts.
• To determine the most parsimonious and accurate representation of internet addiction as measured by the IAT.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to ascertain the underlying dimensional structure of the IAT.
• The reliability of the Italian IAT version was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.
• Data were collected from a sample of 485 Italian college students.

Main Results:

• The Italian IAT version demonstrated good psychometric properties, including satisfactory internal consistency and factorial validity.
• Both one-factor (20 items, 36.18% variance) and two-factor (11+7 items, 42.15% variance) models showed acceptable fit.
• Prevalence rates indicated excessive internet use in 36.3% and significant problems in 1.9% of the student sample.

Conclusions:

• The study provides support for both unidimensional and bidimensional structures of the IAT, with a slight preference for bidimensionality.
• Researchers are advised to exercise caution when interpreting IAT factor solutions due to the observed inconsistencies in the literature.
• Further research is needed to confirm the cross-cultural stability of the identified factor structures.