Exploring the Online Cognition Scale in a Polish sample

Internet use is increasing every year and it involves a risk of pathological use that worsens users' quality of life in every aspect. A good instrument to diagnose this problem is essential. The first purpose of this paper is to present the Polish version of Davis's Online Cognition Scale (OCS). The second purpose is to discuss the gender differences in OCS scores that were found in the study. A sample of 626 individuals aged 11-84 years, Mage = 21.68 years, SD = 5.15, 40.3% males took part in the study. On this sample, the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the OCS were investigated. The Corrected Item-Total Correlation values ranged from .377 to .679, indicating that the scale's items measured the same construct: pathological Internet use. Also, the internal consistency was very good (α = .817). Consonant with the original version, we obtained a four-factor model comprising impulsivity, loneliness/depression, distraction, and social comfort. Our conclusion is that the Polish version of the OCS is a valid instrument for measuring Internet addiction. Gender differences were discussed.