Specific Internet Disorders in University Students in Taiwan and Hong Kong: Psychometric Properties with Invariance Testing for the Traditional Chinese Version of the Assessment of Criteria for Specific Internet-Use Disorders (ACSID-11)

The Assessment of Criteria for Specific Internet-use Disorder (ACSID-11) is a psychometric instrument assessing different types of problematic internet use. The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the traditional Chinese version and evaluate whether the traditional Chinese version showed similar and robust psychometric evidence to that of original ACSID-11 using a German sample. The present study was longitudinal and comprised 1257 university students in the first study and 409 university students in the follow-up study. Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega were used for testing internal consistency of the ACSID-11. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to examine construct validity. Multi-group CFA was performed to assess the invariance of the factor structure across region and sex. Moreover, Pearson correlations were conducted to examine the test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of ACSID-11. The results suggested satisfactory levels of test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and validity of the ACSID-11. The four-factor structure of the ACSID-11 was replicated and confirmed in both Taiwan and Hong Kong samples. The study findings demonstrated that the traditional Chinese version of the ACSID-11 is reliable and valid for assessing and distinguishing specific internet-use disorders and is applicable across regions and sexes among emerging adults in Taiwan and Hong Kong.