Assessments
"Connect" By Nancy Jean Lopez
Since the concept of IA was first mentioned, countless studies have come out attempting to assess the contition. A 2014 review of IA assessment tools analyzed dozens of the most commonly used assessments. Out of 68 research studies, three diagnostic assessments were employed more frequently: Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ), and Chen's Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) (Kuss et al. 2). In many of these studies, the assessment was modified to fit the parameters of the study. For example, in the Duisburg-Essen study, a shortened version of Young's assessment (S-IAT-ICD) was used to diagnose patients for Internet-communication disorder (ICD) (Wegmann et al. 35). However, Kuss's review points out that the popularity of these assessments does not equate to higher quality results. Each study has its flaws and limitations, hence the reason why some researchers have modified these assessments to fit their study parameters.