The Self-perception of Text-message Dependency Scale (STDS): Psychometric update based on a United States sample

• Published in: The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse Vol. 45; no. 1; pp. 42 - 50
• Main Authors: Liese, Bruce S., Benau, Erik M., Atchley, Paul, Reed, Derek, Becirevic, Amel, Kaplan, Brent
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 02.01.2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Accidents; Accidents, Traffic - statistics & numerical data; Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Attitudes; Automobile Driving - statistics & numerical data; Behavior, Addictive - diagnosis; Behavior, Addictive - epidemiology; Behavior, Addictive - psychology; behavioral addiction; Confirmatory factor analysis; Crime - statistics & numerical data; Dependency; Female; Humans; Japan; Male; Measures; Mechanical Turk; Middle Aged; motor vehicle accidents; moving violations; Perceptions; psychometric measurement; Psychometrics; Quantitative psychology; Road accidents; Self Concept; Self image; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; Text messaging; Text Messaging - statistics & numerical data; Texting addiction; United States - epidemiology; Violations; Women; Young Adult; Youth; United States; Japan; United States > US; behavioral addiction; moving violations; Texting addiction; psychometric measurement; motor vehicle accidents; Mechanical Turk
• ISSN: 0095-2990; 1097-9891
• DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2018.1465572

Background: Some have suggested that text messaging is an addictive behavior. However, this characterization is uncertain, partly due to lack of well-validated measures of text messaging attitudes and behaviors. One standard instrument for measuring text messaging attitudes and behaviors is the Self-perception of Text-message Dependency Scale (STDS), though the psychometric properties of this scale have only been examined with a sample of Japanese youth. Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the STDS in the United States to determine its utility as a measure of text messaging dependence. We were interested in examining the factor structure and determining the extent to which this scale would correlate with two important outcome measures: motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and moving violations. Methods: We analyzed data from 468 adults (age 18-74; 274 women) recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk (mTurk) service. Participants completed the STDS and provided information about their driving-related incidents in the past year. Results: First we performed a confirmatory factor analysis, which supported the instrument's original factor structure. Then we tested the relationship between scores on the STDS and two important variables, MVAs and moving violations. We found that the STDS significantly correlated with both MVAs and moving violations. Conclusion: The present study confirms that the STDS is a potentially useful instrument for studying texting dependence in the United States and with adults of all ages. The instrument may be particularly useful in predicting motor vehicle outcomes.