Validation of the Farsi version of the cyberloafing scale in Iranian university students

Despite its relevance in academic settings, the psychometric properties of the Farsi Cyberloafing Scale (CLS) remain underexplored. This study evaluated its factorial structure, measurement invariance, and convergent validity.

A cross-sectional design was employed. The statistical population consisted of all students aged 18 to 32 who were active in various universities in Tabriz. From this population, 389 individuals were selected as the research sample through convenience sampling. Data were collected using Cyberloafing Scale, Social Media Addiction Scale, and Rumination Scale. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS₂₇ and RStudio through statistical methods including Cronbach's alpha, Pearson correlation coefficient, and confirmatory factor analysis.

The results indicated that the Cyberloafing Scale had acceptable reliability (α = 0.92). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis confirmed five factors-sharing, shopping, real-time updating, accessing online content, and gaming/gambling-consistent with previous research (CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.96, SRMR = 0.079, RMSEA = 0.058). Additionally, we found that the Cyberloafing Scale was positively correlated with social media addiction and rumination. Measurement invariance across different subgroups also showed a good model fit.

The findings of this study suggest that the Farsi version of the Cyberloafing Scale has appropriate psychometric properties for assessing the extent of cyberloafing.