German adaptation and validation of the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale
The Online Disinhibition Effect (ODE; Suler, 2004) describes how characteristics of the internet and psychological processes result in disinhibited thoughts and behaviors when using the internet. As the phenomenon is an increasing topic in cyberpsychology, questionnaires to measure the effect are ne...
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Elsevier
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Computers in Human Behavior Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958825000399 |
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| author | Lasse Peschka Michael Hock Claus-Christian Carbon Göran Hajak Ralf Bergner-Köther |
| author_facet | Lasse Peschka Michael Hock Claus-Christian Carbon Göran Hajak Ralf Bergner-Köther |
| author_sort | Lasse Peschka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Online Disinhibition Effect (ODE; Suler, 2004) describes how characteristics of the internet and psychological processes result in disinhibited thoughts and behaviors when using the internet. As the phenomenon is an increasing topic in cyberpsychology, questionnaires to measure the effect are needed. The present study provides the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale, a German adaptation of the English Online Disinhibition Scale by Cheung et al. (2020). Using a German-speaking sample of N = 477 (188 female), we employed exploratory and confirmatory item response factor analyses based on the Graded Response Model. These analyses suggested a six-factor solution with correlated factors that corresponded to the six dimensions of the ODE. Factor correlations were modest to high, but did not indicate the existence of a general factor. With one exception, reliabilities (McDonald's ω) were high (ω ≥ 0.8). The exception was the solipsistic introjection subscale, which yielded a reliability of ω = 0.58). FODS was weakly associated with gender and moderately to strongly with age in three subscales (minimization of authority, invisibility, and dissociative anonymity). We encourage researchers to use the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale presented in this paper as it showed good reliabilities (exception: solipsistic introjection) and is a differentiated, validated, and widely applicable measure of six factors that cause online disinhibition. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-91cecf3483be41419f69fdfbe755f0e4 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2451-9588 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computers in Human Behavior Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-91cecf3483be41419f69fdfbe755f0e42025-08-20T02:01:06ZengElsevierComputers in Human Behavior Reports2451-95882025-05-011810062410.1016/j.chbr.2025.100624German adaptation and validation of the Factors of Online Disinhibition ScaleLasse Peschka0Michael Hock1Claus-Christian Carbon2Göran Hajak3Ralf Bergner-Köther4Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic, Department for Sexual Medicine, Bamberg, Germany; Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of Bamberg, Germany; Corresponding author.Department of Educational Psychology, University of Bamberg, GermanyDepartment of General Psychology and Methodology, University of Bamberg, GermanyPsychiatric Outpatient Clinic, Department for Sexual Medicine, Bamberg, GermanyPsychiatric Outpatient Clinic, Department for Sexual Medicine, Bamberg, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bamberg, GermanyThe Online Disinhibition Effect (ODE; Suler, 2004) describes how characteristics of the internet and psychological processes result in disinhibited thoughts and behaviors when using the internet. As the phenomenon is an increasing topic in cyberpsychology, questionnaires to measure the effect are needed. The present study provides the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale, a German adaptation of the English Online Disinhibition Scale by Cheung et al. (2020). Using a German-speaking sample of N = 477 (188 female), we employed exploratory and confirmatory item response factor analyses based on the Graded Response Model. These analyses suggested a six-factor solution with correlated factors that corresponded to the six dimensions of the ODE. Factor correlations were modest to high, but did not indicate the existence of a general factor. With one exception, reliabilities (McDonald's ω) were high (ω ≥ 0.8). The exception was the solipsistic introjection subscale, which yielded a reliability of ω = 0.58). FODS was weakly associated with gender and moderately to strongly with age in three subscales (minimization of authority, invisibility, and dissociative anonymity). We encourage researchers to use the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale presented in this paper as it showed good reliabilities (exception: solipsistic introjection) and is a differentiated, validated, and widely applicable measure of six factors that cause online disinhibition.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958825000399Online disinhibitionOnline interactionQuestionnaireGerman adaptation |
| spellingShingle | Lasse Peschka Michael Hock Claus-Christian Carbon Göran Hajak Ralf Bergner-Köther German adaptation and validation of the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale Computers in Human Behavior Reports Online disinhibition Online interaction Questionnaire German adaptation |
| title | German adaptation and validation of the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale |
| title_full | German adaptation and validation of the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale |
| title_fullStr | German adaptation and validation of the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale |
| title_full_unstemmed | German adaptation and validation of the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale |
| title_short | German adaptation and validation of the Factors of Online Disinhibition Scale |
| title_sort | german adaptation and validation of the factors of online disinhibition scale |
| topic | Online disinhibition Online interaction Questionnaire German adaptation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958825000399 |
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