Confirmatory factor analysis of the internet addiction test in university students

Authors

  • Manuela de Mendonça Figueirêdo Coelho Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6182-9486
    • Viviane Mamede Vasconcelos Cavalcante Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
      • Tifanny Horta Castro Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. 
        • Mônica Oliveira Batista Oriá Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
          • Eveline Pinheiro Beserra Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
            • Fabiane do Amaral Gubert Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3016-9619
              • Mariana Cavalcante Martins Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8234-8980
                • Marília Braga Marques Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
                  • Paula Sacha Frota Nogueira Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
                    • Janaína Fonseca Victor Coutinho Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7451-0132
                      • Rachel Gabriel Bastos Barbosa Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        DOI:

                        https://doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.4593

                        Keywords:

                        Factor Analysis, Internet Addiction, Students, Psychiatric Nursing, Mental Health

                        Abstract

                        Highlights

                        • The internal consistency of the Internet Addiction Test IAT was deemed adequate.
                        • A significant and strong correlation was observed between the salience and excessive use factors, as well as between excessive use and lack of control.
                        • Confirmatory factor analysis of the IAT among university students supported a six-factor structure in the Brazilian version of the instrument.
                        • Psychiatric nursing is encouraged to perform cross-cultural and psychometric validation of the IAT worldwide.

                        Introduction: The Internet Addiction Test is a psychometric instrument designed to assess and quantify the severity of internet addiction and explore aspects of internet misuse.  Objective: To confirm the factorial validity of the Internet Addiction Test in a sample of university students. Materials and Methods: A methodological study was conducted with 5,292 Brazilian university students. The data underwent confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency assessment. Results: The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test yielded a value of 0.946, indicating that the sample was adequate. Factor analysis confirmed the existence of factors that fully align with the original American scale. The model showed satisfactory fit indices, including a Comparative Fit Index of 0.978, Tucker-Lewis Index of 0.976, Standardized Root Mean Residual of 0.053, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation of 0.054 [0.052–0.056], which are consistent with previously established satisfactory fit criteria. Factor loadings of the items were considered high, ranging from 0.43 (item I7) to 0.89 (item I17). Discussion: The Internet Addiction Test’s six-factor structure was validated, which is identical to that proposed by the original American version and was consistent with other studies that have also identified the same multifactorial structure of the original instrument. Therefore, psychiatric nurses can confidently use it when caring for young university students.  Conclusion: The Internet Addiction Test is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring internet addiction among university students and can be used by mental health nurses to identify such issues.

                        How to cite this article: Coelho, Manuela de Mendonça Figueirêdo; Cavalcante, Viviane Mamede Vasconcelos; Castro, Tiffany Horta; Oriá, Mônica Oliveira Batista; Beserra, Eveline Pinheiro; Gubert, Fabiane do Amaral; Martins, Mariana Cavalcante; Marques, Marília Braga; Nogueira, Paula Sacha Frota; Coutinho, Janaína Fonseca Victor; Barbosa, Rachel Gabriel Bastos. Confirmatory factor analysis of the internet addiction test in university students. Revista Cuidarte. 2025;16(2):e4593.  https://doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.4593

                        Author Biographies

                        • Manuela de Mendonça Figueirêdo Coelho, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        • Viviane Mamede Vasconcelos Cavalcante, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        • Tifanny Horta Castro, Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. 

                          Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. 

                        • Mônica Oliveira Batista Oriá, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        • Eveline Pinheiro Beserra, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        • Fabiane do Amaral Gubert, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        • Mariana Cavalcante Martins, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        • Marília Braga Marques, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        • Paula Sacha Frota Nogueira, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        • Janaína Fonseca Victor Coutinho, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                        • Rachel Gabriel Bastos Barbosa, Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

                          Professor at the Federal University of Ceará, UFC. Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

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                        Published

                        2025-08-22

                        How to Cite

                        1.
                        Coelho M de MF, Cavalcante VMV, Castro TH, Oriá MOB, Beserra EP, Gubert F do A, et al. Confirmatory factor analysis of the internet addiction test in university students. Revista Cuidarte [Internet]. 2025 Aug. 22 [cited 2026 Apr. 27];16(2). Available from: https://revistas.udes.edu.co/cuidarte/article/view/4593
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