Validation of the Instagram Addiction Scale in Greek Youth

Abstract

Instagram is one of the fastest growing social networking platforms. A body of evidence suggests that Instagram problematic use and addiction have negative effects on the psychological well-being of young people. The Instagram Addiction Scale, a self-report tool assessing Instagram problematic use and addiction, has been developed recently. The aim of the present study was to validate the Instagram Addiction Scale in the Greek language and to assess its psychometric properties. An online and on-print self-report survey was conducted among Greek youth, aged between 18 and 24 years. The survey included the Instagram Addiction Scale, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Big Five Inventory. A total of 967 respondents participated in the study. The analysis suggested that the Greek version of the Instagram Addiction Scale has good psychometric properties. The principal component factor analysis for construct validity generated two subscales as the original instrument: social effect and impulsion. Internal consistency for the two subscales and the scale’s total score was satisfactory, with Cronbach’s α at 0.76, 0.85 and 0.88, respectively. Correlation analyses revealed positive associations between the perceived stress scale and social effect, and the Instagram Addiction Scale’s total score (p<0.0001 and p=0.002 respectively). This is the first study validating the Instagram Addiction Scale in Greek youth, which can be used by researchers and practitioners for the evaluation of youth problematic use of Instagram.

Italian validation of the Instagram Addiction Scale and association with psychological distress, social media addiction, smartphone addiction, and internet use disorder

“…The findings here are in line with those obtained in the original study (Kircaburun & Griffiths, 2018) and two other validation studies (i.e. Greek [Zarenti et al, 2021] and Persian [Sharifi Fard et al, 2021] versions) demonstrating: (i) the stability and coherence of the IAS-15 (ii) the replication of the scale's factorial structure, (iii) items with high and significant factor loadings, and (iv) the adequate indices of fit between the data and the proposed model (as demonstrated in the CFA). This makes the Italian IAS-15 a valuable tool for assessing the severity of Instagram addiction among Italian adults, especially in the context of epidemiological research.…”

“…The analysis of the Italian IAS-15 reliability and validity coefficients showed good and consistent psychometric properties. More specifically, comparing the goodness of fit indices (GOFs) with the other validation studies (i.e., Greek [Zarenti et al, 2021] and Persian [Sharifi Fard et al, 2021] versions), the present study found similar or better values (i.e., RMSEA, GFI). These results demonstrate that the Italian IAS-15 is very robust from a factorial structure point of view and the factor loadings of the items were all significant and high.…”

“…The struggle for individuals to keep themselves tuned to these rhythms may result in the feeling of inadequacy, as well as in the misuse of social media. The attempt to gather as much information as possible (Zarenti et al, 2021) may increase the levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. Furthermore, Instagram can be used as a temporary escape from real life and/or as a coping strategy, from those life events that are perceived as stressful, depressing and/or uninspiring, by those individuals who feel susceptible to such triggers (Zarenti et al, 2021).…”

“…Greek sample of youth (18-24 years), Zarenti et al (2021) reported satisfactory reliability indexes. Moreover, the results of the exploratory factor analyses were in line with the hypothesized structure.…”

Validation of the Persian version of the Instagram Addiction Scale among Iranian students

“…Various tools have been developed to assess Instagram addiction and its various aspects, including the 15-item Instagram Addiction Scale (IAS-15; , the 20-item Instagram Addiction Scale (IAS-20; Sholeh & Rusdi, 2019, and the 34-item Instagram Addiction Test (IAT;Souza, Sami Yukta & Be Vera, 2018). Validation and reporting of IAS psychometric properties has also been carried out in several countries (Zarenti et al, 2021;Pekpazar, Aydin, Aydin, Beyhan & Ari, 2021). Therefore, the present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the IAS-15 among Iranian students.…”