Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun 26;13(6):e0197562.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197562. eCollection 2018.

The concurrent validity of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Mobile Phone Dependence Questionnaire (MPDQ)

Fung Chin  1   2 , Chi Hung Leung  1
Affiliations

The concurrent validity of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Mobile Phone Dependence Questionnaire (MPDQ)

Fung Chin et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Internet addiction and mobile phone addiction are both forms of technology addiction, and thus would be expected to show similarities and differences. This study investigated the association between the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Mobile Phone Dependence Questionnaire (MPDQ) as a test of concurrent validity. Participants were 1,072 students aged between 9 and 18 years old (63% male and 37% female) from three primary schools and three secondary schools in Hong Kong. Correlations showed that scores on the two measures were moderately correlated, providing further evidence of each measure's validity. Confirmatory factor analysis that the IAT's factor structure was similar in both younger and older samples, suggesting that it is developmentally appropriate for primary and secondary school students. Latent Class Analysis showed that 4 classes or 5 classes are appropriate for IAT's score classification. ROC analyses showed similar rates of participants with high scores on the IAT and on the MPDQ. The outcomes have implications for the prevention and treatment of Internet and mobile phone addiction. Future research can establish norms for different ages, genders and cultural groups.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

    1. World wide web foundation. Internet users in the world. 1, March, 2018. Available from: http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/.
    1. Statista. Number of smartphone users worldwide from 2013 to 2019 (in billions). 1, March, 2018. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-wo....
    1. Census and Statistics Department, Persons aged 10 and over who had used personal computer (PC) by age group and sex. 27 July, 2017. Available from: https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/gender/itu/index.jsp/.
    1. Census and Statistics Department, Persons aged 10 and over who had mobile phone (including smartphone) by age group and sex. 27 July, 2017. Available from: https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/gender/itu/index.jsp/.
    1. Census and Statistics Department, Usage of Personal Computers and Internet Services by Hong Kong Residents, 2000 to 2012. 1 Jan 2013. Available from: http://www.statistics.gov.hk/pub/B71305FA2013XXXXB0100.pdf Cited 10 September 2017.

LinkOut - more resources