Development and Validation of the Digital Sensitivity Scale for Adults: Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Psychometrics
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated societal digitalization, highlighting disparities in digital literacy and competencies.
• Existing digital literacy measures predate widespread technology adoption and focus narrowly on perceived proficiency.
• A comprehensive evaluation of digital competencies, attitudes, and proficiency is needed to address the digital divide and ensure compliance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new digital sensitivity scale (YI-DSS) suitable for contemporary societal needs.
• To overcome the limitations of existing digital literacy assessment tools.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and expert opinions informed the initial item pool for the YI-DSS.
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were performed on data from 986 adult participants.
• Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha; demographic differences were analyzed using t tests and ANOVAs.

Main Results:

• A 4-factor digital literacy structure emerged: digital application, communication, critical thinking, and ethics (Cronbach α=0.782-0.947).
• A 2-factor digital efficacy structure was identified: digital confidence and anxiety (Cronbach α=0.787-0.912).
• The YI-DSS demonstrated good model fit and high correlation with an existing Digital Literacy Scale (r=0.809).

Conclusions:

• The YI-DSS is a valid self-assessment tool for bridging the generational information gap and promoting digital technology adaptation.
• Assessing digital literacy and competency is crucial for the acceptance and efficacy of digital therapeutics.
• The YI-DSS can enhance compliance with digital therapeutics by evaluating technological literacy and competency.