Cybersecurity Awareness Scale (CSAS) for Social Media Users

Development, Validity and Reliability Study

Bibliographic Data

ID21501057
Authorsİbrahim Arpacı (0000-0001-6513-4569, Management Information Systems, College of Business Administration, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Mishref, Kuwait Department of Software Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Bandirma Onyedi Eylul University, Balikesir, Turkiye Department of Computer Science and Engineering, College of Informatics, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea, corresponding author), Ömer Aslan (0000-0003-4420-9845, Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University), Ibrahim Enes Oner (0000-0002-9513-8242, Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Postgraduate Education Institute, Trabzon University, Trabzon, Turkey)
Year2025
Publication date2025-04-27
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInformation Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0266-6669 • E-ISSN: 1741-6469
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/02666669251336562
OpenAlexW4409901256
LanguageEN
References cited50

With the widespread adoption of social media, cybersecurity threats such as data breaches, online fraud, and identity theft have become increasingly prevalent. Despite these risks, many users remain unaware of potential security threats and fail to take adequate precautions to protect their privacy and confidentiality. This study aims to develop and validate the “Cybersecurity Awareness Scale” (CSAS) for social media users. Data was collected from 1096 social media users in two phases. An “Exploratory Factor Analysis” (EFA), conducted with data from 500 users, identified a three-factor structure with strong internal reliability (α = 0.88). A “Confirmatory Factor Analysis” (CFA), performed on a separate sample of 596 users, confirmed that the three-factor model-comprising Confidentiality, Trust, and Privacy-provided a good fit to the data. Additionally, convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity assessments supported the scale's robustness. The findings indicated that the CSAS is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring cybersecurity awareness among social media users

Business · Computer security · Psychometrics · Social media · Validity · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Information and Cyber Security · Network Security and Intrusion Detection · Psychology · Technology Adoption and User Behaviour

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