Autor(es): Dores, Artemisa R. ; Antunes, Cátia ; Geraldo, Andreia ; Carvalho, Irene P. ; Marques, António ; Pereira, Ilídio ; Chamberlain, Samuel R. ; Lochner, Christine ; Ioannidis, Konstantinos ; Dores, Artemisa ; Geraldo, Andreia ; Pereira da Silva Marques, António José
Data: 2025
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/29877
Origem: Repositório Científico do Instituto Politécnico do Porto
Assunto(s): Internet; Problematic social media use
Problematic usage of the internet (PUI) refers to a pattern of internet use that results in negative consequences in an individual’s life. It encompasses a broad spectrum of activities, which require assessment in terms of both severity and diversity, for a comprehensive understanding. This study aimed to translate the Internet Severity and Activities Questionnaire (ISAAQ-10) into Portuguese, to analyze its psychometric properties and to explore the validity of the ISAAQ-10 social networking use activity score towards identifying problematic social media use. A snowball sampling method was used, with participants completing an online survey comprising sociodemographic questions and the Portuguese versions of the ISAAQ-10, Internet Addiction Test-10 (IAT-10), Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF), and Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). The psychometric analysis included internal reliability testing using Cronbach’s alphas and test-retest reliability, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and convergent validity testing between the ISAAQ-10 and IAT-10. The concurrent validity of the ISAAQ-10 was also examined. A total of 590 young adults (85.1 % female), aged between 18 and 35 years, participated in this study. The ISAAQ-10 presented good internal consistency ( α =0.93), with a test-retest correlation of r = 0.865; 95 % CI: 0.669–0.939. and a unidimensional structure that explained 48.3 % of the total variance. The convergent validity of the ISAAQ-10’s total score was established through a high Pearson’s correlation (r = 0.574; p ≤ .001) with the IAT-10’s total score. Pearson’s correlations between the ISAAQ-10 gaming activity score and the IGDS9-SF (r = 0.873; p < .001), and between the ISAAQ-10 social networking use activity score and the BSMAS (r = 0.670; p < .001), respectively, supported the instrument’s concurrent validity. This work provides support for the Portuguese translation of the ISAAQ-10, which can be employed to identify the severity of problematic usage of the internet in a population sample. It also provides the first validation of the ISAAQ-10 social networking use activity score, which can be employed to identify problematic social media use within a predominately female university student sample. This study further establishes the ISAAQ-10 as a valid and reliable tool for population studies and, specifically, for the identification of problematic social media use.
