Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the IDMUQ: A Short Measure to Assess Increased Digital Media Use in Preschool Children

Lutz Wartberg (), Hannah Schmidt, Ingo Menrath, Stefanie Witt and Silke Pawils
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Lutz Wartberg: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, MSH Medical School Hamburg, 20457 Hamburg, Germany
Hannah Schmidt: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
Ingo Menrath: Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
Stefanie Witt: Institute of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
Silke Pawils: Institute of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-10

Abstract: Background: Today, the use of digital media is already present at an early stage in the lives of children. Even preschool children can already develop increased digital media use (IDMU). Empirical findings indicate associations of IDMU with several problems in psychosocial development. Therefore, it seems important to identify IDMU early, but there are very few specific approaches for preschool children. The aim of the present survey was to evaluate a newly developed brief screening instrument (based on DSM-5 criteria) named the IDMUQ (an abbreviation for “Increased Digital Media Use Questionnaire”). Methods: We investigated two samples, consisting of 341 parents and of 809 parents, with the IDMUQ, the Short CIUS, and the Parenting Stress Index. Data on screen time and sociodemographic aspects were also collected. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) as well as reliability and correlation analyses. Results: The findings of both the EFA and the CFA support a one-dimensional structure for the IDMUQ. The reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha values) were 0.74 and 0.86. We observed first indications of criterion validity for the IDMUQ as well as correlations between parenting stress and IDMU. Conclusions: The results indicate that the IDMUQ, with its four items, is a promising screening tool to measure IDMU in preschool children.

Keywords: psychometric properties; screening; questionnaire; DSM-5; media use; gaming disorder; Internet addiction; stress; children; parents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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