Psychometric properties of the Chinese Internet Gaming Disorder Scale

- A new scale, the Chinese Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (C-IGDS), was developed.
- The C-IGDS shows good reliability, structural validity, and criterion validity.
- For the first time, the criteria for IGD were shown to have measurement invariance.
- The C-IGDS can serve as a tool to advance epidemiological research on IGD.
- The findings further support the viability of the DSM-5′s criteria for IGD.

To develop a consensus on the definition and measurement of Internet gaming disorder (IGD), several recent studies have used the DSM-5's proposed criteria for IGD as the basis in scale construction. This study contributes to this emerging consensus by developing and validating a new Chinese Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (C-IGDS) based on the DSM-5 criteria. A representative sample of Hong Kong community adults (n = 502, 50% men, mean age = 37.1, age range = 18-60) was recruited for a telephone survey with random digit dialing. Various statistical techniques were used to assess the psychometric properties of the C-IGDS. The C-IGDS had good reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.91) and structural validity (CFA model fit: RMSEA = 0.027, CFI = 0.991, TLI = 0.988) in our sample. Moderate to moderately strong correlations with depressive symptoms (r = 0.617, p < 0.001), social anxiety symptoms (r = 0.366, p < 0.001), and gaming hours (r = 0.412, p < 0.001) supported the criterion validity of the C-IGDS. In addition, the C-IGDS exhibited strict measurement invariance for sex and at least strong measurement invariance for age. In addition to providing the first Chinese scale for measuring IGD based on the DSM-5′s proposed criteria, this study provides empirical support for the validity of these diagnostic criteria as the basis for a universal measure of IGD. Most important, this study is the first to reveal the criteria's measurement invariance, thereby indicating their suitability for use with diverse demographic groups.