Archives of Hellenic Medicine

Last update:

05-Jul-2026

Arch Hellen Med, 43(5), September-October 2026, 674-681

ORIGINAL PAPER

Development and validation of the TikTok Addiction Scale-Short Form

P. Galanis,¹ A. Katsiroumpa,¹ O. Konstantakopoulou,¹ O. Galani,² M. Tsiachri,¹ I. Moisoglou³
¹Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, Faculty of Nursing, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens
²Faculty of Nursing, University of West Attica, Athens
³Faculty of Nursing, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece

OBJECTIVE To develop and validate a short version of the TikTok Addiction Scale, i.e. the TikTok Addiction Scale-Short Form (TTAS-SF).

METHOD Construct validity of the TTAS-SF was assessed through corrected item-total correlations and confirmatory factor analysis. Concurrent validity was examined using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), and the Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10). Reliability was evaluated through multiple indices, including Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, Cohen's kappa, and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was employed to determine the optimal cut-off point for the TTAS-SF, using the PHQ-4 as external criterion.

RESULTS Corrected item-total correlations and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the final version of the TTAS-SF includes six items in one factor. Concurrent validity of the TTAS-SF was excellent since we found statistically significant correlations between the TTAS-SF and the BSMAS, the PHQ-4, and the BFI‐10. Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega for the TTAS-SF was 0.805 and 0.817, respectively. Cohen's kappa for the six items ranged from 0.789 to 0.905 (p<0.001 in all cases). Additionally, intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.993 (p<0.001). Thus, the reliability of the TTAS-SF was excellent. The best cut-off point for the TTAS-SF was 13, indicating that TikTok users with TTAS-SF score ≥13 were considered as users with problematic TikTok use and high probability of addiction issues, and those with TTAS-SF score <13 as healthy users.

CONCLUSIONS The TTAS-SF is a one-factor six-item scale with great reliability and validity. The TTAS-SF is a short and easy-to-use tool that measures levels of TikTok addiction in a couple of minutes. Valid measurement of TikTok addiction with brief and valid tools is essential to further understand predictors and consequences of this phenomenon.

Key words: Addiction, Cut-off point, Instrument, Scale, Short-form, TikTok, TikTok Addiction Scale, Tool, Validation.