AUTHOR=Bouna-Pyrrou Polyxeni , Aufleger Birte , Braun Simona , Gattnar Manja , Kallmayer Sofia , Wagner Helena , Kornhuber Johannes , Mühle Christiane , Lenz Bernd 

TITLE=Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evaluation of the Social Network Use Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder Criteria

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2018

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00692

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00692

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Background: The inclusion of internet gaming disorder (IGD) as a condition warranting more research in the DSM-5 has led to a rapid increase of research on addictive internet activities. Further evaluation of the criteria for IGD and social network disorder (SND) is needed.
Objective: To assess the internal consistency, construct validity, retest-reliability, and long-term stability of SND and IGD criteria.
Method: We analyzed data from two cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, one sample of 192 participants enriched for internet use and another community-based sample of 2316 individuals.
Results: First, independent from assessment setting (online, telephone, on-site) and gender, we found acceptable to good internal consistency for SND and IGD criteria (Cronbach’s α 0.690 – 0.774 and 0.712 – 0.866, respectively). Second, positive Spearman correlations between the sum of affirmed criteria and established scales of pathological internet use (ρ 0.395 – 0.783) and time spent on the internet gaming or social networking sites (ρ 0.317 – 0.761) confirmed convergent validity. Moreover, the sum of affirmed criteria related positively to attentional impulsivity (ρ 0.171 – 0.311), urgency (ρ 0.124 – 0.200), and neuroticism (ρ 0.086 – 0.181), and negatively to endurance (ρ -0.098 – -0.245) and conscientiousness (ρ -0.116 – -0.257). Finally, SND and IGD criteria showed high retest stability (SND ρ 0.653 – 0.797, IGD ρ 0.714 – 0.826, respectively). However, participants scored higher on SND and IGD scales during the online compared to the on-site assessment. The two-year follow-up revealed an increase in affirmed SND and IGD criteria.
Conclusion: Our data support good psychometric properties of the SND and IGD criteria and outline the addictive potential of social networking sites.