An Assessment of the Structural Validity and Measurement Invariance of the Web-Use Skills Scale for Aging Internet Users

Dados Bibliográficos

ID22004124
AutoresKatja Prevodnik (0000-0003-2566-6258, University of Ljubljana, autor correspondente), Marina Trkman (0000-0003-0277-5822, University of Ljubljana), Darja Grošelj (0000-0002-4521-7233, University of Ljubljana), Jošt Bartol (0000-0001-7425-1644, University of Ljubljana), Andraž Petrovčič (0000-0002-6401-524X, University of Ljubljana)
Ano2022
Volume25
Fascículo10
Páginas657-665
Data de publicação2022-10-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2152-2715 • E-ISSN: 2152-2723
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1089/cyber.2022.0023
PMID36130141
OpenAlexW4296703675
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas42

Research on digital inequality has found that aging adults are often at risk of digital exclusion. Understanding the validity of survey measures assessing Internet skills in this population is critical to providing the high-quality data needed for effective digital inclusion policy interventions. This cross-validation study examines the structural validity and measurement invariance (across age, gender, and education groups) of the Web-Use Skills scale (WUS), which is commonly used as a proxy measure of Internet skills. We tested the 14-item version of the WUS. The scale was translated into the Slovenian language and pretested with older Internet users. Data were collected from two independent samples of Internet users aged 50+ years ( N 1 = 259 and N 2 = 256) drawn from an online opt-in panel in Slovenia. The examination of structural validity confirmed that the WUS adequately reflects the one-factor structure of the web-use skills construct, although in a shorter six-item form. Moreover, the analysis confirmed strict measurement invariance between the two samples and, at least, scalar invariance between age, gender, and education groups. The results support the applicability of WUS in cross-group comparisons of Internet skills in the population of aging Internet users and point to several opportunities for future work

Confirmatory factor analysis · Construct validity · Developmental psychology · Digital divide · Environmental health · Geography · Machine learning · Measurement invariance · Population · Psychometrics · Structural equation modeling · The Internet · World Wide Web · Applied Psychology · Child Development and Digital Technology · Computer Science · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Medicine · Psychology · Technology Use by Older Adults