Problematic Use of Internet Among Indonesia University Students: Psychometric Evaluation of Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form

OBJECTIVE

Social media addiction and internet gaming disorder may cause mental health problems among a minority of university students. The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and the 9-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF) are commonly used worldwide. However, they have not been translated or validated into Indonesian. The present study aimed to translate and validate the BSMAS and IGDS9-SF in an Indonesian context among young adults.

METHODS

A multi-center, web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 458 university students (74% female; mean age 22.5 years) in Indonesia from June to December 2021. The BSMAS and IGDS9-SF were translated into Indonesian. Internal consistency (using Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω) and factor structure (using confirmatory factor analysis) of the two instruments were examined. Concurrent validity of BSMAS and IGDS9-SF was examined using their correlations with two external concepts: nomophobia and psychological distress.

RESULTS

Internal consistency of the Indonesian BSMAS and IGDS9-SF were both acceptable (Cronbach's α=0.80 and 0.90; McDonald's ω=0.86 and 0.92). Both instruments were unidimensional with good factor loadings (0.54-0.78 for BSMAS; 0.63-0.79 for IGDS9-SF). Moreover, BSMAS and IGDS9-SF had stronger associations with nomophobia (r=0.58 and 0.12; p<0.001) than with psychological distress (r=0.43 and 0.15; p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

The Indonesian versions of the BSMAS and IGDS9-SF had good psychometric properties in terms of linguistic validity, unidimensionality, and reliability. The findings indicate the tools are appropriate for assessing the risk of social media addiction and internet gaming disorder among university students in Indonesia.

Time invariance of three ultra-brief internet-related instruments: Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale- Short Form (IGDS-SF9) (Study Part B)

Given the many technological advances over the past two decades, a small minority of young people are at risk of problematic use or becoming addicted to these technologies (including activities on the internet and smartphones). Many brief psychometric scales have been developed to assess those at risk of problematic use or addiction including the six-item Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale [SABAS], the six-item Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale [BSMAS], and the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form [IGDS-SF9]). However, to date, the reproducibility of these three scales has only been examined over a short period of time (e.g., two weeks), and it is unclear whether they are time invariant across a longer period (e.g., three months). Given the emergence of internet and smartphone addiction in Chinese population, the present study translated the three instruments into Chinese and recruited 640 university students (304 from Hong Kong [99 males] and 336 from Taiwan [167 males]) to complete the three scales twice (baseline and three months after baseline). Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) was applied to examine the time invariance. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the relative reliability, and the percentage of smallest real difference (SRD%) was utilized to explore the absolute reliability for the three scales. MGCFA showed that all three scales were time invariant across three months. ICC demonstrated that all the scales were satisfactory in reproducibility (0.82 to 0.94), and SRD% indicated that all the scales had acceptable measurement noise (23.8 to 29.4). In conclusion, the short, valid, reliable, and easy-to-use Chinese SABAS, BSMAS, and IGDS-SF9 show good properties across periods of three months.

Conceptual Issues Concerning Internet Addiction and Internet Gaming Disorder: Further Critique on Ryding and Kaye (2017)

The recent commentary paper by Ryding and Kaye Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (doi 10.1007/s11469-017-9811-6, 2017) rightly claimed that “internet addiction” (IA) is a conceptual minefield and raised some important issues for researchers and treatment providers working in the online addiction field. In the present commentary paper, some of the assertions made by Ryding and Kaye are briefly critiqued and extended. More specifically, the present paper (i) examines IA and Internet-based addictions and argues that IA is now a misnomer, (ii) examines IA and its relationship to Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and argues IA and IGD are two completely different constructs, and that IGD is a sub-type of gaming disorder rather than a sub-type of IA, (iii) argues that the time spent engaging in online activities is not a good criterion for assessing online addictions and that the context of use is far more important criterion, and (iv) argues that those researchers working in the IA field can learn a lot from the problem gambling field in collecting robust data. More specifically, one of the innovative ways forward could be to build strategic partnerships with commercial online companies to analyze their behavioral tracking data.

Exploring Individual Differences in Online Addictions: the Role of Identity and Attachment

Research examining the development of online addictions has grown greatly over the last decade with many studies suggesting both risk factors and protective factors. In an attempt to integrate the theories of attachment and identity formation, the present study investigated the extent to which identity styles and attachment orientations account for three types of online addiction (i.e., internet addiction, online gaming addiction, and social media addiction). The sample comprised 712 Italian students (381 males and 331 females) recruited from schools and universities who completed an offline self-report questionnaire. The findings showed that addictions to the internet, online gaming, and social media were interrelated and were predicted by common underlying risk and protective factors. Among identity styles, 'informational' and 'diffuse-avoidant' styles were risk factors, whereas 'normative' style was a protective factor. Among attachment dimensions, the 'secure' attachment orientation negatively predicted the three online addictions, and a different pattern of causal relationships were observed between the styles underlying 'anxious' and 'avoidant' attachment orientations. Hierarchical multiple regressions demonstrated that identity styles explained between 21.2 and 30% of the variance in online addictions, whereas attachment styles incrementally explained between 9.2 and 14% of the variance in the scores on the three addiction scales. These findings highlight the important role played by identity formation in the development of online addictions.

The evolution of Internet addiction: A global perspective

Kimberly Young's initial work on Internet addiction (IA) was pioneering and her early writings on the topic inspired many others to carry out research in the area. Young's (2015) recent paper on the 'evolution of Internet addiction' featured very little European research, and did not consider the main international evidence that has contributed to our current knowledge about the conceptualization, epidemiology, etiology, and course of Internet-related disorders. This short commentary paper elaborates on important literature omitted by Young that the present authors believe may be of use to researchers. We also address statements made in Young's (2015) commentary that are incorrect (and therefore misleading) and not systematically substantiated by empirical evidence.