INTERNET ADDICTION TEST

Name
Male Female
Age Years Online Do you use the Internet for work? Yes No

This questionnaire consists of 20 statements. After reading each statement carefully, based upon
the 5-point Likert scale, please select the response (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) which best describes you. If
two choices seem to apply equally well, circle the choice that best represents how you are most
of the time during the past month. Be sure to read all the statements carefully before making
your choice. The statements refer to offline situations or actions unless otherwise specified.

0 = Not Applicable
1 = Rarely
2 = Occasionally
3 = Frequently
4 = Often
5 = Always

1. How often do you find that you stay 11. How often do you find yourself
online longer than you intended? anticipating when you will go online again?
2. How often do you neglect household 12. How often do you fear that life without
chores to spend more time online? the Internet would be boring, empty, and
3. How often do you prefer the excitement joyless?
of the Internet to intimacy with your 13. How often do you snap, yell, or act
partner? annoyed if someone bothers you while you
4. How often do you form new are online?
relationships with fellow online users? 14. How often do you lose sleep due to
5. How often do others in your life being online?
complain to you about the amount of time 15. How often do you feel preoccupied with
you spend online? the Internet when off-line, or fantasize about
6. How often do your grades or school being online?
work suffer because of the amount of time 16. How often do you find yourself saying
you spend online? "just a few more minutes" when online?
7. How often do you check your email 17. How often do you try to cut down the
before something else that you need to do? amount of time you spend online and fail?
8. How often does your job performance or 18. How often do you try to hide how long
productivity suffer because of the Internet? you've been online?
9. How often do you become defensive or 19. How often do you choose to spend more
secretive when anyone asks you what you time online over going out with others?
do online? 20. How often do you feel depressed,
10. How often do you block out disturbing moody, or nervous when you are off-line,
thoughts about your life with soothing which goes away once you are back online?
thoughts of the Internet?

COPYRIGHT © by Dr. Kimberly S. Young

All rights reserved. Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, P.O. Box 632, Bradford, PA 16701
SCORING

The IAT total score is the sum of the ratings given by the examinee for the 20 item responses.
Each item is rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 to 5. The maximum score is 100 points. The
higher the score is, the higher is the severity of your problem. Total scores that range from 0 to
30 points are considered to reflect a normal level of Internet usage; scores of 31 to 49 indicate
the presence of a mild level of Internet addiction; 50 to 79 reflect the presence of a moderate
level; and scores of 80 to 100 indicate a severe dependence upon the Internet.

If you have any queries or doubts related to this scale or your responses, you can email us on
counselor@iitk.ac.in

COPYRIGHT © by Dr. Kimberly S. Young

All rights reserved. Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, P.O. Box 632, Bradford, PA 16701
 Internet
(IAT)
Addiction Test
Dr. Kimberly S. Young

620 Wheat Lane

Wood Dale, IL 60191

product number 30500

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 Internet Addiction Test
By Dr. Kimberly S. Young

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 Copyright © 2017 by Stoelting. All rights reserved
Published by Stoelting
620 Wheat Lane, Wood Dale, IL 60191

No part of this product may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning,
recording, microfilming, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Unauthorized reproduction or use is prosecutable under federal law.

The author and publisher have intended to be as accurate as possible in information provided
throughout this product. However, it may be possible that, due to human error, mistakes exist
within. Neither the author nor publisher extends any warranty about information contained
within this product. Users of this product are expected to have the appropriate qualifications and
training and use clinical judgment when using this product.

Care has been taken to maintain the confidentiality of individuals described within. Any similarity
to actual persons is not intentional.

Stoelting publishes a number of other psychological assessments and therapeutic products.

Stoelting is available and happy to assist all customers with support of our products. Please visit
our website at stoeltingco.com or email at psychtests@stoeltingco.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Internet Addiction Test (IAT)/ Kimberly S. Young.

ISBN: 978-0-9982980-9-2

1. Psychology, Pathological-Addiction, 2. Internet Addiction-Prevention,

3. Internet Addiction-Psychological Aspects

Printed in the United States of America.

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 Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................7

1. Development............................................................................................................................................8

Appropriate Uses...................................................................................................................................10

Examiner Qualifications.........................................................................................................................10

Description and Content of Scale..........................................................................................................11

2. Adminstration .........................................................................................................................................12

Administration Time...............................................................................................................................12

Directions for Administration .................................................................................................................12

Self-Administration ...............................................................................................................................12

Oral Administration................................................................................................................................13

Response Sets .....................................................................................................................................14

Questions..............................................................................................................................................14

3. Scoring...................................................................................................................................................16

Guidelines..............................................................................................................................................16

Interpretation ........................................................................................................................................16

4. Validation................................................................................................................................................18

5. Motivational Interviewing And The IAT...................................................................................................20

Studies...................................................................................................................................................23

A Sample of Validation Studies and Uses of IAT...................................................................................24

Appendix A Internet Addiction Test.............................................................................................................27

Appendix B IAT Domain Interpretation.......................................................................................................29

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 About The Author
Dr. Kimberly Young is a licensed psychologist and an internationally known expert on
Internet addiction. She founded the Center for Internet Addiction in 1995, is a professor at St.
Bonaventure University, and has published numerous articles and books, including Caught in the
Net, the first to identify Internet addiction, Tangled in the Web, Internet Addiction: A Handbook
and Guide for Evaluation and Treatment, and her most recent, Internet Addiction in Children and
Adolescents: Risk Factors, Treatment, and Prevention. Her work has been featured in The New
York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The London Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, CNN,
CBS News, Fox News, Good Morning America, and ABC’s World News Tonight. She has received
the Psychology in the Media Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association and the
Alumni Ambassador Award for Outstanding Achievement from Indiana University at Pennsylvania.
She serves on the advisory board for The Internet Group in Toronto and the Japanese Ministry for
the prevention and treatment of Internet Addiction.

Dr. Young has testified for the Child Online Protection Act Congressional Committee and she
has been a keynote speaker at the European Union of Health and Medicine, the International
Conference on Digital Culture in Seoul, Korea, the US Army War College in Pennsylvania, and
the First International Congress on Internet Addiction Disorders in Milan, Italy, and served on the
National Academy of Sciences for the Digital Media and Developing Minds colloquia.

She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Behaviorial Addictions, the American Journal of
Family Therapy, Addicta: The Turkish Journal of Addiction, the International Journal of Cyber
Crime and Criminal Justice, and on the advisory board of CyberPsychology: Journal for Psycho-
social Research on Cyberspace, and a member of the American Psychological Association.

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 Introduction
The Internet Addiction Test (IAT; Young, 1998) was developed to measure the presence and
severity of Internet and technology dependency among adults. As a growing cultural and clinical
phenomenon, Internet Addiction is viewed as a new clinical disorder requiring assessment and
treatment. While new, the IAT is the first validated test to be used in mental health settings and
schools. The IAT can be administered to assess symptoms of Internet addiction in a variety
of test settings, including private practice clinics, schools, hospitals, and residential programs,
among other settings. The term Internet is used to refer to all contact that individuals have with
web-based services, including websites, Internet-based games, social media, and online enter-
tainment, accessed on all types of computers, screens, devices, phones, portable electronic
devices, and other forms of technology.

The Internet is a relatively new technology that has impacted the world and provided many
benefits to its users. At the same time, the Internet has had negative ramifications. Some people
are becoming preoccupied with the Internet, are unable to control their use of electronic devices,
and are jeopardizing school, employment, and relationships. The concept of “Internet addiction”
has been proposed as an explanation for uncontrollable, damaging use of technology to access
the Internet. Symptoms are compared to the criteria used to diagnose other addictions. The
literature has characterized Internet addiction as an impulse control disorder comparable to
pathological gambling because of overlapping diagnostic criteria and symptomatology.

Researchers have suggested various diagnostic criteria to examine Internet addiction from
a clinical perspective and over time. Consistencies in patterns that differentiate normal from
compulsive Internet use have emerged. Based on these studies, the IAT was constructed to
capture the problematic behavior associated with compulsive use of technology, including online
porn, Internet gambling, and compulsive use of online games and social media.

Studies on Internet addiction originated in the US. However, the problem of Internet addiction has
become a global problem. Studies have documented Internet addiction in a growing number of
countries such as Italy (Ferraro, Caci, D’Amico, & Di Blasi, 2007), Pakistan (Suhail & Bargees,
2006), and Czech Republic (Simkova & Cincera, 2004). Reports also indicate that Internet
addiction has become a serious public health concern in China (BBC, 2007), Korea (Hur, 2006),
and Taiwan (Leung, 2007). In the 1990s, studies attempting to define the prevalence of the
disorder vary in their estimates from 6% (Greenfield, 1999) among the general population of
Internet users to 14% among college-based populations (Scherer, 1998).

A nationwide study conducted by a team from Stanford University’s School of Medicine had
estimated that nearly one in eight Americans exhibited at least one possible sign of problematic
Internet use (Aboujaoude, Koran, Gamel, Large, & Serpe, 2006). The prevalence of Internet
addiction in the U.S. appears to be increasing as Internet use increases (Wen et. al., 2015). More
recent research has estimated that as many as 6 to 11% of individuals who use the Internet can
be considered to have an Internet addiction (Weinstein & Lejoyeux, 2010).

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 1 Development
In 1995, Dr. Kimberly S. Young first identified Researchers have likened Internet addiction to
addictive use of the Internet as a distinct psycho- addictive syndromes similar to impulse-control
logical disorder, utilizing comprehensive case disorders on the Axis I Scale in the DSM and
studies of Internet users. Since this initial study, utilized various forms of DSM-IV based criteria
research from Young and others has classified to define Internet addiction. Of all the references
various ways that Internet addiction has nega- in the DSM, Pathological Gambling was viewed
tively impacted users’ lives. Early studies showed as most akin to this phenomenon. The Internet
mild-to-compulsive use of the Internet can lead to Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ) was
social isolation and depression (Krant et al., 1998), developed as an initial screening instrument
relationship difficulties and marital discord (Cooper utilized for diagnosis (Young, 1998). The following
et al., 2000; Schneider, 2000; Young et al, 2000), questionnaire conceptualized patterns associated
academic failure among students (Anderson, with Internet Addiction Disorder:
1999; Morahan-Martin, 1997), and work-related
problems such as reduced productivity and job Young- Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire
loss (Case & Young, 2001).
1. Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet (think
about previous online activity or anticipate next
Historically, according to Dr. Maressa Hecht online session)?
Orzack, the director of the Computer Addiction
2. Do you feel the need to use the Internet with
Services at McLean Hospital, a Harvard
increasing amounts of time in order to achieve
Medical School affiliate, and another pioneer satisfaction?
in the study of Internet addiction, individuals
3. Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to
with Internet addiction demonstrate a loss of
control, cut back, or stop Internet use?
impulse control. Life becomes unmanageable
for the online user, yet despite these problems, 4. Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable
when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use?
the addict cannot give up the Internet. The
computer becomes the primary relationship in 5. Do you stay online longer than originally intended?
the addict’s life (Orzack, 1999). 6. Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of
significant relationship, job, educational or career
While diagnosing Internet addiction is not a opportunity because of the Internet?
direct function of time spent using the Internet, 7. Have you lied to family members, therapist, or
early studies suggested that those classified as others to conceal the extent of involvement with the
dependent or addicted online users were generally Internet?
excessive about their online usage, spending 8. Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from
anywhere from forty to eighty hours per week problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g.,
using the Internet, with sessions that could last feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)?
up to twenty hours (Young, 1998, Greenfield Figure 1 Young- Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire
1999). Sleep patterns were disrupted due to late
night log-ins; addicts generally stayed up surfing Test-takers were to consider non-essential
until late in the night, with the reality of having computer/Internet usage, such as for non-business
to wake up early for work or school. In extreme or non-academically related use, over a six-month
cases, caffeine pills were used to facilitate longer period. Subjects were considered ‘dependent’
Internet sessions. Such sleep deprivation caused when endorsing five or more of the questions
excessive fatigue, impairing academic or occupa- and at-risk for dependence when endorsing 3 – 4
tional performance that also increased the risk of questions (Durkee et al., 2012). The IADQ was
poor diet and exercise. used in research examining prevalence of Internet
addiction across cultures. Researchers found

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 Cronbach alpha measures of internal consistency 1. Having a maladaptive preoccupation with
of between .60 (Li, O’Brien, Snyder, & Howard, Internet use, as indicated by at least one of the
2001) and .72 (Dowling & Quirk, 2009) following:
A) Preoccupations with use of the Internet that
Associated features of Internet addiction, beyond are experienced as irresistible.
those included in the IADQ, include regular B) Excessive use of the Internet for periods of
excessive Internet use, neglect of routine duties time longer than planned.
or life responsibilities, social isolation, and being
secretive about online activities, or suddenly 2. The use of the Internet, or the preoccupation
demanding privacy from friends or family when with its use, causes clinically significant distress
online. While the IADQ provides a means to or impairment in social, occupational, or other
conceptualize pathological or addictive use of the important areas of functioning.
Internet, these warning signs can often be masked
by cultural norms that encourage and reinforce 3. The excessive Internet use does not occur
online use. Even if a client meets all the criteria, exclusively during periods of hypomania or
signs of abuse can be rationalized as, “I need this mania and is not better accounted for by other
for my job” or “It’s just a machine” when in reality Axis I disorders.
the Internet is causing significant problems in a
user’s life. Thus, evaluations which focus on the Most recently, the American Psychiatric Associ-
negative impact Internet use is causing to the user ation has included Internet Gaming Disorder (APA,
are more indicative of problematic use than those 2013) in the most recent revision of the DSM
that focus strictly on overall Internet use. (DSM-5) as a condition for further study.

Beard and Wolf (2001) further modified Young’s Diagnosing Internet addiction is often complex.
diagnostic criteria, recommending that all of Unlike chemical dependency and substance
the first five criteria be required for diagnosis of abuse, the Internet offers several direct benefits,
Internet addiction, since these criteria could be as a technological advancement, to our society,
met without any impairment in the person’s daily not only as a device to be criticized as addictive.
functioning. It was also recommended that at least Individuals can conduct research, perform
one of the last three criteria (e.g., criteria 6, 7, and business transactions, access libraries, commu-
8) be required in diagnosing Internet addiction. nicate, and make vacation plans. Books have
The reason the last three were separated from been written outlining the psychological, as well
the others is because of the fact that these criteria as functional, benefits of the Internet in our lives.
impact the pathological Internet user’s ability By comparison, alcohol or drugs are not an
to cope and function (representing depressed, integral or necessary part of our personal and
anxious, and escaping problems respectively), and professional lives, nor do these substances offer
also impact interaction with others (e.g., significant any health benefit. With so many practical uses
relationships, jobs, being dishonest with others). of the Internet, signs of addiction can easily be
masked or justified. Further, clinical assessments
Shapiro et al., (2003) put forth a more compre- often assess for the presence of psychiatric and
hensive approach to diagnosing Internet addictive disorders. However, given its newness,
addiction under the general style of impulse symptoms of Internet addiction may not be
control disorders per the DSM-IV-TR that further revealed in an initial clinical interview. While
broadened the diagnostic criteria for problematic self-referrals for Internet addiction are becoming
Internet use. These criteria included: more common, often the client does not present
with complaints of computer addiction. People

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 may initially present with signs of depression, Studies have found that the IAT is a reliable
bi-polar disorder, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive measure that covers the key characteristics of
tendencies, only for the treating professional to problematic Internet use (see Validation section).
discover signs of Internet abuse upon further The test measures the extent of a client’s
examination. Thus, diagnosing Internet addiction involvement with the computer and classifies the
at an initial clinical interview can be challenging. It addictive behavior in terms of mild, moderate,
is important for treating professionals to routinely or severe impairment. The IAT is a worldwide
screen compulsive use of the Internet as part of accepted and validated testing instrument, and
the assessment process. it can be utilized within outpatient and inpatient
settings and adapted accordingly to fit the needs
The IAT was constructed to measure symptoms of the particular clinical setting.
of Internet addiction which are mutually shared
with other established compulsions, such as those Appropriate Uses
involving gambling, food, and sex; and to also
The IAT measures the severity of self-reported
evaluate specific symptoms unique to this client
compulsive use of the Internet for adults and
population. The IAT provides an assessment tool
adolescents. The IAT is designed to be adminis-
for clinicians to measure the severity of Internet
tered to the experienced Internet user who utilizes
addiction among their clients. Furthermore, given
this technology on a frequent basis. As it may be
corporate reliance upon this technology to support
difficult for individuals to accurately self-reflect on
multiple business applications, the IAT serves
their Internet use with general questions, it would
as a useful pre-employment screening device
be appropriate to administer the IAT to anyone
for managers to detect the presence for Internet
who has indicated that they’ve used the Internet
addiction among job candidates to improve
within the past week, to screen for the presence of
productivity and reduce corporate liability.
addictive Internet behaviors.

Expanding upon the IADQ, the items for the IAT

Results from the IAT should be interpreted with
were drawn from earlier research that explored
caution among clinical populations that suffer from
various aspects of online behavior and profiled char-
psychiatric conditions concurrent with compulsive
acteristics that differentiate ‘normal’ online users from
syndromes, as indications of addictive Internet-re-
compulsive online users (e.g., Greenfield, 1999; Grif-
lated behavior may be better attributed to other
fiths, 1996; Morahan-Martin, 1997; Young, 1997a,
psychiatric disorders.
1997b, 1998, 1999). Characteristics of compulsive
online users include: a preoccupation with the
Examiner Qualifications
Internet, lying about their Internet-related behavior, a
loss of interest in other interests and/or people only The IAT may be administered and scored by
to prefer more time online, using the Internet as a paraprofessionals, but it should be used and
form of escape, an inability to control Internet-using interpreted best by professionals with appropriate
behavior, and impairment in functioning. Compulsive clinical training and experience. Clients with
Internet users also reported frequent time distortion, Internet addiction frequently have co-morbid mood
sleep deprivation, increased social isolation, being disorders; some clients with mood disorders, in
secretive about online activities or a sudden demand turn, may report suicidal ideation. Therefore, the
for privacy when online, and persona development clinician reviewing the IAT data must be able to
when online. Studies typically evaluated non-es- respond to a client’s addictive disorder as well as
sential Internet usage (i.e., non-business or academ- the client’s depression or suicidal ideation.
ically related use) over a six-month period, when not
better accounted for by a manic episode.

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 Description and Content of Scale The scale was created by adapting DSM-IV criteria
for pathological gambling to pertain to Internet use
The 20-item IAT questionnaire measures charac-
and is a modification of the earlier 8-item scale,
teristics and behaviors associated with compulsive
Young’s Internet Addiction Diagnostic Question-
use of the Internet that include compulsivity,
naire (IADQ). The IAT views Internet addiction as
escapism, and dependency. Questions also
an impulse-control disorder and the term Internet
assess problems related to personal, occupational,
refers to all types of online activity. The IAT is
and social functioning stemming from Internet
the most widely used Internet addiction scale in
use. Examinees respond to each statement with a
the world, and has been translated into several
number between 1 and 5, representing a Likert-
languages including English, Chinese, French,
scale continuum, indicating the extent to which
Italian, Turkish, and Korean.
they endorse that particular behavior.

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