Abstract
As internet use has become nearly ubiquitous, problems related to internet use have become more pervasive. Identifying factors that promote internet use is an important first step in developing effective interventions. The preliminary Internet Consequences Questionnaire (ICQ-P) is a new functional behavioral assessment that measures the degree to which people's internet use is maintained by six different behavioral functions. In this pilot study, 61 psychology students completed the ICQ-P and a brief measure of problematic internet use, the Young Diagnostic Questionnaire (YDQ). Students with YDQ scores < 3 endorsed items related to attention and escape from demand more than other items. Students with YDQ scores ≥ 3 endorsed sensory reinforcement, demand, social avoidance, and private events more than students with lower YDQ scores. They also endorsed escape from demand and private events more than any other behavioral functions. The variability in responses to the ICQ-P and the systematic differences in responses of students with high and low YDQ scores provide evidence that the ICQ-P can be used to investigate possible functional relations. Thus, the ICQ-P may be useful in informing targeted interventions that address the specific reinforcement dynamics identified in individual cases of people seeking to change their internet use.
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Data availability
Items and scoring criteria for the preliminary Internet Consequences Questionnaire, deidentified quantitative data from all participants, and html copies of output from statistical analysis in JASP are available on the Open Science Framework, https://osf.io/rxfg6/?view_only=2cf226d1d56f47e8ab7bf4292c88a141
Notes
Mauchley’s test indicated that the assumption of sphericity was violated, χ2(14) = 61.64, p < .001, so Greenhouse-Geisser correction factors were applied to the within-subject effect and interaction.
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Elizabeth G. E. Kyonka: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review and editing Supervision, Funding acquisition. Rinisha Naidu: Investigation, Writing—original draft. Ezekiel C. Torres: Investigation, Writing—original draft. Salma Garcia: Investigation, Writing—original draft.
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Study procedures were reviewed and approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board and were carried out in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki).
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Support for this research was provided by a 2021–2022 Faculty Support Grant from the California State University, East Bay, Division of Academic Affairs and a Collaborative Research Award from the California State University, East Bay, College of Science. We thank Alijah Griffin for assistance coding open-ended responses. Data collection, analysis, and writing occurred on the ancestral and unceded land of the Muwekma Ohlone people and other familial descendants of the Verona Band of Alameda County. We acknowledge and honor the Ohlone and Chochenyo Tribes, and all the original Indigenous peoples of the land upon which California State University, East Bay stands.
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Kyonka, E.G.E., Naidu, R., Torres, E. et al. Internet Consequences Questionnaire: A Pilot Study. Psychol Rec 74, 139–144 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-024-00594-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-024-00594-0