Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS)

Background

The Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS), developed by Gert-Jan Meerkerk and colleagues in 2009, is self-report 14-item questionnaire to assess problematic internet use or internet addiction. It measures how much an individual struggles to control their online habits and how those habits interfere with daily life, relationships, and sleep. Specifically, the scale covers five areas of internet use:

1. Loss of Control: Difficulty logging off or continuing to use the internet despite wanting to stop.
2. Conflict: Ignoring friends, family, or personal responsibilities in favor of being online.
3. Preoccupation: Feeling preoccupied with the internet even when offline.
4. Coping: Using the internet as a coping mechanism or an escape.
5. Withdrawal Symptoms: Feeling restless, frustrated, or having disrupted sleep (e.g., staying up too late online).

The CIUS has demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha (α) ≥ 0.89), strong re-test stability and good construct and convergent validity and has become a widely used instrument for tracking digital habits. It is utilized by clinical psychologists, researchers, and Net Addiction treatment centers to screen patients and evaluate the success of interventions.

Task Procedure

The CIUS asks participants 14 questions (e.g. "Do you find it difficult to stop using the Internet when you are online?") with 5 response options ranging from "never" (0) to "very often" (4). There are no reversed scored questions on this scale.

What it Measures

The CIUS is a self-report measure of internet addiction

Psychological domains

• Addiction: Compulsive engagement in a behavior, despite harmful consequences
• Tolerance: Needing a higher dose or increased frequency to achieve the same effect.
• Withdrawal: Experiencing physical or psychological distress when stopping the behavior.
• Neglect: Giving up important social, occupational, or recreational activities.

Main Performance Metrics

• Total Score: Sum of all individual scores (Range: 0-56); A cut-off of 21 is suggested by Guertler et al (2014) to capture (early stage) problematic internet use

Psychiatric Conditions

The CIUS is predominantly used in patients with (or suspected to suffer from) Internet Use Disorders (IUD), but has been used with various patient groups:

• Internet Use Disorders (IUD)
• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
• Anxiety Disorders
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

References

Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS).

---

Meerkerk, G.J., Van Den Eijnden, R.J., Vermulst, A.A., & Garretsen, H.F. (2009). The Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS): some psychometric properties. Cyberpsychol Behav, 12(1), 1-6.

Downing, Martin J, Antebi, Nadav, & Schrimshaw, Eric W. (2014). Compulsive use of Internet-based sexually explicit media: Adaptation and validation of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS). Addictive Behaviors, 39(6), 1126-1130.

Diana Guertler, Hans-Juergen Rumpf, Anja Bischof, Nadin Kastirke, Kay Uwe Petersen, Ulrich John, & Christian Meyer. (2014). Assessment of Problematic Internet Use by the Compulsive Internet Use Scale and the Internet Addiction Test. European Addiction Research, 20(2), 75-81.

Dhir, Amandeep, Chen, Sufen, & Nieminen, Marko. (2015). A repeat cross-sectional analysis of the psychometric properties of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) with adolescents from public and private schools. Computers and Education, 86, 172-181.

Masumeh Ghazanfarpour, Hossein Dabiriyan Tehrani, Nasrin Khajeali, Abbas Keshtkar, & Masoudeh Babakhanian. (2020). Psychometric Properties of Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS): A systematic review and meta-analysis. Klinik Psikiyatri Dergisi, 23(3), 352-363.