Development and Psychometric Validation of the Emotional Experience of Internet Shutdown Scale (EEISS) in Iranian University Students

Objective: The emotional experience of internet shutdown may increase psychological distress and contribute to maladaptive responses. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Emotional Experience of Internet Shutdown Scale (EEISS) among Iranian university students during the ۲۰۲۵–۲۰۲۶ academic year.Methods: This scale-development study used a descriptive–analytical survey design with correlational psychometric analyses. Students of Payame Noor University of Yazd (N = ۴۲۰) were recruited Convenience Sampling. Data were collected using the researcher-developed EEISS, the Wartime Anxiety Scale to assess convergent validity, and Snyder’s Hope Scale () to examine divergent validity. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and Pearson correlations were conducted in SPSS ۲۶ and AMOS ۲۴.Results: EFA showed that the EEISS consists of ۱۰ items loading on three latent factors, jointly accounting for ۸۰.۹۶۷% of the total variance. CFA further supported the satisfactory fit of the three-factor model (RMSEA = ۰.۰۴۳, CFI = ۰.۹۹۱, GFI = ۰.۹۷۶). Convergent validity was evidenced by a positive, significant correlation with war anxiety (r = ۰.۲۷۵), whereas divergent validity was supported by a negative, significant correlation with hope (r = −۰.۳۳۱). The overall reliability of the scale, as indicated by Cronbach’s alpha (α = ۰.۸۷۵), reflected desirable internal consistency. Conclusion: Overall, these findings suggest that the EEISS possesses sound psychometric properties and can be employed as a valid and reliable instrument for the targeted assessment of the emotional experience of internet shutdown among university students.

کلیدواژه ها:

war ، emotion ، Internet ، Psychometrics ، University Students