Development of the smartphone-based Internet Addiction Tendency Scale for high school students and technical college students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring smartphone-based internet addiction tendency. The subjects were 371 high school and technical college students who completed a self-reported online questionnaire (the Internet Addiction Tendency Scale). One hundred and thirty-four students completed the questionnaire twice, 1 month apart, and test-retest correlations were assessed. One hundred and nine students installed a smartphone application, which recorded their internet usage for approximately 2 weeks. The scale contained 38 items, which measured the tendency towards smartphone-based internet use addiction. Factor analysis revealed that the smartphone-based Internet Addiction Tendency Scale includes four subscales: an unsettled state of mind, regulation difficulties, smartphone incentives, and need for approval. The scale demonstrated good test-retest correlations. Students who used the internet for >600 minutes per day at the weekend reported higher scores for regulation difficulties and smartphone incentives than those who used the internet for <200 minutes. Smartphone-based internet addiction tendency also exhibited a significant positive correlation with subjective symptoms and depression. The scale displayed test-retest reliability and validity, and is a useful tool for measuring smartphone-based internet addiction tendency.