Internet Addiction Test (IAT)
How the Scales are Structured
Who Usually Takes This Test?
See How You Compare
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.
Example Questions From the Test
- Rarely or never
- Sometimes
- Regularly
- Often
- Always
- Rarely or never
- Occasionally
- Frequently
- Often
- Always
- Rarely or never
- Occasionally
- Regularly
- Often
- Always
Internet Addiction Test (IAT) - Description and methodology of the test
People who want to understand whether online activity is affecting responsibilities, relationships, sleep, or mood can use the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) as a structured self-check. This internet use assessment is intended for anyone reflecting on habits that feel difficult to control or that seem to displace other parts of life. The result offers a focused estimate of problematic involvement and possible areas for change.
What This Assessment Explores
Rather than measuring screen time alone, this internet addiction questionnaire assesses internet involvement and potential symptoms of addiction through situations involving control, mood, responsibilities, and relationships. It suits readers who wonder whether online habits are displacing offline priorities.
The main themes represented by the items are:
- Loss of control shows difficulty stopping, cutting back, or leaving on time.
- Preoccupation and emotional pull show anticipation, preference for online contact, or low mood offline.
- Functional disruption captures effects on sleep, chores, study, and work.
- Interpersonal and coping effects cover secrecy, conflict, replaced intimacy, and escape from troubling thoughts.
These themes are represented in one Internet Addiction Scale scored from 20-100. It assesses internet involvement and potential symptoms of addiction. Higher scores indicate more severe problems related to excessive internet use that may negatively affect daily functioning. Results are labelled Low risk (20-49), Moderate risk (50-79), or High risk (80-100).
Methodology and Scientific Basis
Each item asks how often an experience occurs. Five frequency choices run from Rarely or never to Always. The result is shown on one overall scale, but the answer labels do not establish how points are assigned; the items address control, mood, responsibilities, relationships, and offline functioning.
As an online behavior questionnaire, it relies on self-report. Young's 1998 clinical framework and book describe internet addiction through loss of control, preoccupation, withdrawal-like discomfort, and interference with ordinary functioning; these ideas appear in items about mood, sleep, work, relationships, secrecy, and failed attempts to cut back.
Kimberly S. Young developed the Internet Addiction Test, and Widyanto and McMurran examined its psychometric properties. Their research concerns the original IAT and does not establish identical reliability, norms, or clinical thresholds for this digital presentation.
Interpret the result as reported risk, not a diagnosis or a measure of time online alone. Current stress, self-awareness, memory, and impression management can affect responses, so compare the score with concrete effects on daily functioning and broader assessment.
- Widyanto, L., & McMurran, M. (2004). The psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(4), 443-450. 10.1089/cpb.2004.7.443
- Young, K. S. (1998). Caught in the Net: How to Recognize the Signs of Internet Addiction - and a Winning Strategy for Recovery. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
- Young, K. S. (1998). Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Clinical Disorder. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1(3), 237-244. 10.1089/cpb.1998.1.237
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