PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF A TURKISH VERSION OF THE COMPULSIVE INTERNET USE SCALE

Yasar Kuzucu Yalcn Ozdemir 0 0 Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Education, Department of Counseling and Guidance Merkez Kampus Aytepe, Aydn, Turkey Serife Ak Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Education, Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology , Merkez Kampus Aytepe, Aydn , Turkey This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) in a Turkish adolescent sample. The data were collected from 409 adolescents. The sample included 229 (56%) females and 180 (44%) males. The age of the participants ranged between 16 and 18 years with a mean age of 17.3 (SD= 1.3). Adolescent ages 1618).First, the factor structure of the scale was examined and the results of the explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the CIUS is a onedimensional construct.As for the convergent validity; the correlations of CIUS with measures of Internet addiction were examined. For divergent validity; the correlations of CIUS with measures of social and emotional loneliness and depression were examined. These results revealed strong correlations. Following, reliability wasexamined via internal consistency, test-re-test reliability coefficients and split-half correlation. Reliability analyses showed that the scale had high internal consistency, high test-retest and split half reliabilities. The results of the present study indicate that Turkish version of CIUS has good psychometric properties.Finally, findings were discussed in line with the relevant literature. - development of an excessive use and uncontrollable pattern (Khazaal et al., 2011). A rapid increase in the use of the Internet brings some problems for young people (Kim & Davis, 2009).Indeed, besides the many benefits of using Internet for communicating with others, the results of some studies indicated that Internet using might be associated with psychological problems (Beard & Wolf,2001; Young, 1998). More clearly, past research has documented a relation between compulsive Internet use and psychological variables such as depression, self-esteem, shyness, social anxiety, impulsivity, and loneliness (Armstrong, Phillips, &Saling, 2000; Cao, Su, Liu, & Gao,2007; Caplan, 2003; Chak,& Leung, 2004; Engelberg&Sjoberg, 2004; Nalwa&Anand, 2003; Whang, Lee, & Chang, 2003; Yen Ko, Yen, Wu, & Yan, 2007). Internet use in Turkey has increased rapidly and has become a major part of daily life (Ko, 2011). Problematic Internet use is a growing concern among Turkish adolescents (Tahirolu,Celik, Uzel, Ozcan, & Avc, 2008). One of the recent study, it was found that 4.5% of the participants (96.4% of the sample below the age of 16, 3.6% was aged 17 and above) can be diagnosed as Internet addicts (Cmert & gel, 2009).Adolescents are at high risk for negative effects of Internet and are thought to be more vulnerable to problematic Internet use (Johansson&Gotestam, 2004). Besides increasing number of studies which show the importance of problematic Internet use (Bayraktar&Gn, 2007), it is necessary to assess problematic Internet use among this group. Based on the need for measuring problematic Internet use in adolescent group, this study aimed at translating and adapting Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS; Meerkerk, Van Den Eijnden, Vermulst, & Garretsen, 2009) into Turkish. In recent years, several instruments have been developed to assess Internet use behavior such as Internet Addiction Test (Young, 1998), the Pathological Internet Use scale (Morahan-Martin & Schumacher, 2000), and the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale (Khaazal et al., 2011). There are also some developed (Ceyhan,Ceyhan, &Grcan, 2007), and adapted scales for assessing Internetuse behavior in Turkish sample (Kesici and ahin, 2010; Canan et al., 2010).Unidimensional structure and shortness of the CIUS make it easier to use for screening in clinical settings and in online studies (Meerkerk, et al., 2009; Khaazal et al., 2011).Therefore, it is important to study on Turkish validation of this short questionnaire. The purpose of the present study was to adapt the CIUS into Turkish and to conduct validity and reliability studies of the scale. Method Participant The data were collected from 409 adolescent. The sample included 229 (56%) females and 180 (44%) males. The adolescent was randomly selected from high schools in a small-sized city in western Turkey. Validity study involved268 high school students from two different high schools. The sample included 151(56%) females and 117 (44%) males. The mean age of the sample was 17.03 years (SD 1.1 years; range 16-18 years). For reliability analysis, 141 high school studentsfrom one high school(79 female and 62 male) completed the CIUS. The age of the participants ranged between 16 and 18 years with a mean age of 17.3 (SD= 1.3). Depression was controlled for both data. For this purpose, students with high scores on the depression scale (7 student in first, 5 students in the second data set), who may use the Internet more in order to avoid social interaction, was excluded. Procedure CIUSwas administered to the participants at their school. Students individually completed the questionnaires in group sessions, with an overall administration time of approximately 25 minutes. All participants were volunteers, and were allowed to withdraw at any point. The researcher explained the purpose of the study and assured the students of the confidentiality of their responses.No personal identifying information was collected. Eight participants were dropped from the study due to incomplete data.Students were asked to complete questionnaires including measures of compulsive Internet use and Internet addiction, depression and social loneliness. The data were collected in 2012. Instruments Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS; Meerkerk et al., 2009). The CIUS consists of 14 items on a 5-point Likert scale (never to very often) and scores between 0 and 56. The scale items identifying the core features of compulsive Internet use. These core features are (a) preoccupation or salience (e.g., How often do you look forward to your next Internet session?), (b) loss of control (e.g., How often do you find it difficult to stop using the Internet when you are online?), and (c) continued use of Internet despite the intention to stop (e.g., How often have you unsuccessfully tried to spend less time on the Internet?). A high mean score indicated a high level of CIUS.It has a high internal consistency (Cronbachs alpha=.89). High correlations with convergent and divergent variables demonstrate good validity. Pearson correlations between the CIUS and the The original CIUS was independently translated from English into Turkish by two experts in psychology. The translation was checked by two bilingual experts with graduate degrees in psychology. Consensus was reached on a common draft by these experts. The opinions of the expert panel converged for 92 % of the items. Discrepancies were (...truncated)