ABSTRACT
This study investigated whether the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) capture separate Internet-related disorders, comparing CFA, Set-ESEM, and Full-ESEM models on a sample of 839 participants (59.1% females; Mage = 30.31, SD = 10.05). The ESEM solution was selected based on fit-indices [χ2 = 506.810; df = 248, p < .001; CFI = .976; TLI = .963; RMSEA = .035 (.031–.040); SRMR = .019; AIC = 70,390.955; BIC = 71,269.364; aBIC = 70,678.693], inter-factor correlations (.232 < r < .595), parameter estimates (significant primary target loadings and reduced cross-loadings), and theoretical interpretability. This study highlights the conceptual overlap between Internet and smartphone addiction and emphasises the importance of comparing CFA, Set-ESEM, and Full-ESEM models when two or more sets of constructs are included in a single model.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
Data supporting the findings of this work are available from the corresponding author upon request.