With support from the Digital Democracy Centre (DDC), Nikolaj Dall and Hanno Hagge have completed their Master’s thesis "Development of a Cybersecurity Anxiety Scale". Their research introduces a new psychometric tool designed to measure individuals’ anxiety related to cybersecurity, offering valuable insights into the psychological impact of digital technologies. The project was supported through a DDC Thesis Grant, which enabled the recruitment of survey participants to ensure high-quality data.
You can read more about their interesting project and findings in the abstract below.
Abstract:
Anxiety related to cybersecurity has become an increasing concern for individuals as digital technologies have become an integrated part of everyday life. This thesis introduces the Cybersecurity Anxiety Scale (CybAS), a psychometric scale designed to accurately measure cybersecurity anxiety. The scale is a self-report instrument consisting of three subscales: Cybersecurity Fear and Concern, Cybersecurity Doom and Cybersecurity Behavior and Attitude. CybAS was developed using a standardized process for psychometric scale development. This included an extensive literature review, an item generation phase and multiple data collection rounds. Statistical analysis, such as Cronbach's alpha, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, confirmed that CybAS demonstrated strong reliability and validity. The resulting scale can be a valuable tool in further research of the cybersecurity anxiety domain, and offers researchers and practitioners a way to better understand and address individuals experiencing high levels of cybersecurity anxiety.