Evaluation of Validity and Reliability of Persian Version of Problematic Internet Use (PIU) Questionnaire

This study assessed the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the standard "Problematic Internet Use" questionnaire to be used in epidemiological studies.
This cross-sectional study was performed in 2016. This questionnaire comprises five domains, including preference for online social interaction, mood regulation, cognitive preoccupation, compulsive Internet use, and negative outcomes. The questionnaire has 15 questions with a total score ranges from 15 to 105. A score of 15-45 indicates a normal state, a score of 46-65 shows a mild disorder, a score of 66-85 suggests a moderate disorder, and a score of 86-105 reveals a severe disorder.
Three hundred and seven students (31.1%) had a normal score, 445 (45.1%) had a mild disorder, 191 (19.4%) had a moderate disorder, and 43 (4.4%) had a severe disorder. Based on CVR, 10 questions had a validity of 100%, 3 questions had a validity of 80%, 1 question had a validity of 40%, and 1 question had a validity of zero. The overall validity of the questionnaire was 85.3%. Based on alpha coefficient, the reliability of the domain of preference for online social interaction, mood regulation, cognitive preoccupation, compulsive Internet use, and negative outcomes was 87.6%, 91.1%, 89.8%, 90.8%, and 86.2%, respectively. The overall reliability of the questionnaire was 92.5%.
The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were high; thus, it can be used as a standard tool in epidemiological studies to explore the pathology of injuries related to the Internet and social networks.