Thatcher’s Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ)

Brief Description:
• Thatcher & Goolam (2005)
• Some items were created based on the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) and Young’s Internet Addiction Scale (IAS)

Versions:
• Available in English

Type of Measure:
• Self-completed
• Twenty items (originally 16 items)
• Three factors: Online preoccupations = 10 items; Adverse effects = 7 items; Social interactions = 3 items
• Five point Likert Scale

Target Population:
• Adult
• Adolescents

Scoring:
• Five point Likert Scale
• 1 = rarely (not applicable); 5 = always; yes/no 

Psychometrics:
Source Reference: Thatcher & Goolam (2005): Pilot study and Validation sample used participants from Johannesburg, South Africa who heard about the study over the local radio and internet posts
Pilot study: 279 participants
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90
• Validity: Concurrent
• Three factor model

Validation study: 1795 participants
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90; Item-total correlations ranged from 0.38 to 0.72; Cronbach’s alpha for each factor = 0.88, 0.77 and 0.74 respectively
• Validity: Concurrent (correlated significantly with Young’s 8 item Diagnostic Questionnaire: r = 0.72), Construct
• Three factor model: 1) Online preoccupation, 2) Adverse effects, 3) Social interactions

Utility for Prevalence Surveys:
• Good

Research Applicability:
• Potentially good – used only by originating authors

Copyright, Cost, and Source Issues:
• Public domain (no cost): available in source reference

Source References:
Thatcher, A., & Goolam, S. (2005). Development and psychometric properties of the problematic Internet use questionnaire. South African Journal of Psychology, 35(4), 793-809.

Supporting References:
Thatcher, A., Wretschko, G., & Fridjhon, P. (2008). Online flow experiences, problematic Internet use and Internet procrastination. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 2236-2254.

Strengths:
• Good psychometrics

Weaknesses:
• No cut-off scores
• Used only by authors