Open AccessProblematic internet use among adolescents: Psychometric properties of the index of problematic online experiences (I-POE)
Author(s) -
Jelena Opsenica-Kostić,
Ivana Pedović,
Tanja Panić
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
temida
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2406-0941
pISSN - 1450-6637
DOI - 10.2298/tem1802207o
Subject(s) - psychology , construct validity , mediation , personality , construct (python library) , test (biology) , population , clinical psychology , the internet , developmental psychology , social psychology , psychometrics , demography , paleontology , sociology , world wide web , political science , computer science , law , biology , programming language
The basic aim of this research was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Index of Problematic Online Experiences (I-POE) on a sample of adolescents from Serbia. Construct validity, which had previously been tested by the authors of the test themselves (Mitchell, Jones, Wells, 2013), was retested here. The possibility of predicting I-POE scores based on selected personality traits and parental mediation was also evaluated. A total of 339 students from two cities in Serbia, aged 18 and 19, participated in the study. The results indicated that very similar behavior determined problematic Internet use (PIU) both in this research and that of the authors of the test. Construct validity testing indicated that the scores on the I-POE predicted online perpetration, sexual behavior and victimization, as expected. Negative valence was correlated with the I-POE scores with mediation effect of Parental involvement. The results indicate that I-POE encompasses significant characteristics of PIU as a global phenomenon and it can be of significant importance in assessing this problem among the adolescent population.