Babette Winter – Development and Conceptualization of the Problematic Online Dating App Usage (PODA) Scale
juin 12 @ 1:00 - 2:00
With over 366 million global users, geo-location-based online dating applications are gaining increasing popularity, raising concerns about their potential addictive effects on users’ physical, mental, and sexual health. This study aimed to develop and validate the Problematic Online Dating App Usage (PODA) Scale, a psychometric instrument designed to comprehensively assess problematic usage patterns of geo-location-based dating apps.
Items for the PODA scale were derived through deductive systematic literature reviews, evaluation of existing scales based on various addiction models, and inductive focus group interviews. Two independent samples, totaling 1,198 participants, completed the 20-item PODA scale. In a longitudinal mixed methods study we surveyed 969 Swiss students online twice over a two-week interval. Additionally, we examined dating app behavior and associated risks among 229 men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) individuals twice over a six-month period with in-person interviews and self-reporting questionnaires. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses will be conducted on the student sample and validated in the independent high-risk MSM sample. Network analyses, as well as validity and reliability assessments of the PODA scale will be performed.
Our study represents a pioneering approach in assessing problematic dating app usage by employing a data-driven latent component structure, departing from potentially outdated addiction models that may inadequately capture problematic usage patterns. The introduction of the PODA scale may provide a valuable tool for researchers and clinicians to effectively assess and monitor problematic dating app usage and its associated risks on users’ mental, sexual, and physical health. Moreover, our research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding dating app usage, motivations and its associated risks, ultimately informing evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies.