Construction and Validation of Adolescent Psychological Pathology Inventory in Cyberspace

The aim of this study was to construct and validate an inventory of adolescent psychological pathology in cyberspace.

The research method was exploratory (qualitative-quantitative). For this purpose, by using the thematic analysi, by studying articles and interviewing professors and active adolescents in cyberspace, damages were identified and based on that, an inventory was constructed and validated. The statistical population in the qualitative section included available articles, professors of Arak, Isfahan, Qazvin Imam Khomeini universities and active adolescents in cyberspace in Arak. The sample was selected by purposive method. The statistical population in the quantitative section included active adolescents in cyberspace in Arak, 800 individuals of them (400 for exploratory factor analysis and 400 for confirmatory factor analysis) were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. The research instruments were a demographic information sheet, a researcher-made questionnaire on how to use cyberspace, and a semi-structured interview.

The content and face validity of the inventory were confirmed. In construct validity by exploratory factor analysis, 10 factors were extracted, which explained 78.43% of the variance. In confirmatory factor analysis, fit indicators were desirable. The reliability of the inventory was 0.98 with Cronbach's alpha and 0.82 with retest.

It can be concluded that the constructed inventory has good validity and reliability and can be used to assess the psychological damages of adolescents in cyberspace.