Development and validation of an internet unethical behavior scale

Internet unethical behavior (IUEB) is known to negatively affect the wellbeing of individuals and society and thus should be actively prevented. To develop relevant and effective prevention measures, a valid and reliable scale to identify IUEB is urgently needed. This study developed an adequately comprehensive and valid scale to assess IUEB in the general population. Prior studies and feedback from focus groups and experts were referenced to create the initial draft of this scale, which was used to collect data from a heterogeneous sample of 308 typical individuals. The findings revealed IUEB measured using 27 indices to be a reflective-reflective, second-order construct comprising the four underlying dimensions of online piracy, online hostility, online privacy and security breach, and online sexual harassment. The results of this study can provide librarians, educators, researchers, and policymakers with several important theoretical and practical implications for how to reduce IUEB.