Italian adaptation of the Assessment of Internet and Computer game Addiction scale (AICAs-Ita)

Abstract

Videogaming is an increasingly popular activity among teenagers and adults around the world. The present study aims to adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Assessment of Internet and Computer Game Addiction Scale (AICAs-Ita), a scale recently developed and validated in Germany. Three separate studies were conducted: the first to confirm the factorial structure of the scale, the second to evaluate the validity of the construct, and the third to assess whether AICAs-Ita scores can predict levels of depression and anxiety among gamers. To this end, three different samples of Italian adolescents were involved (aged between 14 and 19) who were asked to complete the AICAs-Ita, in addition to the GAMS and BIS-11 scales for study 2, and CESD and STAY for study 3. The results underlined the psychometric quality of AICAs-Ita in terms of reliability and validity. The Italian version of the scale therefore appears to be a useful tool for assessing video game addiction that can be fruitfully used in this growing field of research, to define populations of individuals at potential risk of dependence on new technologies.