Evaluating Gender Differences in Problematic Smartphone Use. Measurement Invariance and Differential Item Functioning of the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI-I) in a Sample of Italian College Students

The Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) is widely used to measure problematic smartphone use (PSU). Although the SPAI has been translated and validated in different countries, its measurement invariance across gender has received little research attention. This study aimed to examine whether men and women interpreted the Italian version of the SPAI (SPAN) similarly and, consequently, whether the observed gender differences in SPAI scores, which have been shown in previous studies, could be due to true differences, rather than to differences in measurement. Six hundred nineteen Italian young adults (M-age = 22.02 +/- 2.63; 55.7% women) took part in the study and completed the SPATE Multigroup CFA was applied to test the measurement invariance across gender, and the item parameter invariance was investigated with the item-response theory (IRT) differential item functioning (DIE) method for multidimensional models. Evidence of measurement invariance across gender was found. Only one item (i.e., item 14, "The idea of using smartphone comes as the first thought on mind when waking up each morning") out of 24 items of the SPAN showed DIF with a large effect size. Gender-related differences found with the SPAI-1 reflect true differences in smartphone overuse rather than specific characteristics of the measure.