title: The development and initial testing of the Internet Consequences Scales (ICONS).
abstract: The Internet has become a tool for everyday use in the lives of many people; however, little is known about the consequences of using the Internet on the well-being of individuals. This article describes the development of the Internet Consequences Scale (ICONS), a tool to measure the physical, behavioral, economic, and psychosocial consequences of Internet use. Content validity was established using a panel of experts in Internet communications, and construct validity was established using a confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability of the ICONS was established statistically using Cronbach's alpha. The result was a 44-item tool containing four subscales to measure the consequences of Internet use.
authors.affiliation: Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, 31061, USA. deborahclark@58ecox.net
authors.forename: Deborah J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Karen H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Frith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001292:Attitude to Computers; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology; D003142:Communication; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D012934:Social Isolation; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical; D014495:Universities