Factorial structure of the German version of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS),Faktorielle Struktur der Deutschen version der Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) nach konfirmatorischer Faktorenanalyse

Abstract. Some propositions concerning the inclusion of this psychiatric disorder into the DSM-V have been made for diagnosis of internet addiction. The ”Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS)” provides a conceptualization for the psychometric assessment of addictive internet use in the Anglo-American language area. The aim of the current research was to evaluate the factorial structure of the German version of the CIUS by using confirmatory factor analysis. Altogether, N = 2506 students of the University of Tuebingen participated in the online survey. The German version of the CIUS and daily internet use were administered. For the German version of the CIUS, a one-factorial structure could be identified. It can be assumed that the CIUS serves as a short and reliable screening instrument for problematic internet use.