Online assessment: Desirable or dangerous?

Internet-mediated psychological assessment procedures can play an important role in behavioral telehealth, but their use is not unproblematic. Possible uses of World Wide Web-based tests are discussed. Published empirical evaluations of Web-based personality tests indicate that they can be reliable and valid. However, evidence exists that Web-based versions of tests may not always measure the same constructs as their traditional antecedents: Equivalence cannot be assumed. Web-based clinical assessment seems viable, but there are potential difficulties with measurement of some constructs (particularly negative affect), as well as ethical considerations. While offering great potential, online tests of clinical constructs require stringent validation and cautious use.

[1]  Reeshad S. Dalal,et al.  Validity of Web-Based Psychological Research , 2000 .

[2]  Tom Buchanan,et al.  Online personality assessment , 2001 .

[3]  J. Gackenbach.  Psychology and the Internet : intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal implications , 1998 .

[4]  R L Stubblefield,et al.  Behavioral sciences and the law. , 1966, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[5]  L. Eyde,et al.  Psychological testing and psychological assessment. A review of evidence and issues. , 2001, The American psychologist.

[6]  A Stones,et al.  Survey questionnaire data on panic attacks gathered using the world wide web , 1997, Depression and anxiety.

[7]  S. Urbina,et al.  Psychological testing, 7th ed. , 1997 .

[8]  G. Koocher,et al.  Regulation of telepsychology: A survey of state attorneys general. , 2000 .

[9]  C. E. Watkins,et al.  Contemporary practice of psychological assessment by clinical psychologists. , 1995 .

[10]  Christopher R. Wolfe,et al.  Learning and Teaching on the World Wide Web , 2001 .

[11]  S. Nolen-Hoeksema,et al.  A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[12]  M. Phillips,et al.  Depersonalization in cyberspace. , 2000, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[13]  G. Andersson,et al.  A controlled trial of self-help treatment of recurrent headache conducted via the Internet. , 2000, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[14]  Adam Joinson,et al.  Social desirability, anonymity, and internet-based questionnaires , 1999, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[15]  Christopher J Cates,et al.  The NHS Direct Healthcare Guide , 2000, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[16]  S. Nolen-Hoeksema,et al.  Sex Differences in Unipolar Depression: Evidence and Theory Background on the Affective Disorders , 1987 .

[17]  Patricia Wallace.  The Psychology of the Internet , 1999 .

[18]  John L. Smith,et al.  Using the Internet for psychological research: personality testing on the World Wide Web. , 1999, British journal of psychology.

[19]  Ralf Schwarzer,et al.  Assessment of perceived general self-efficacy on the Internet : Data collection in cyberspace , 1999 .

[20]  R. N. Davis,et al.  Web-based administration of a personality questionnaire: Comparison with traditional methods , 1999, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[21]  Tom Buchanan,et al.  Potential of the Internet for personality research , 2000 .

[22]  P Wright,et al.  Computer anxiety: a comparison of pen-based personal digital assistants, conventional computer and paper assessment of mood and performance. , 1998, British journal of psychology.

[23]  Ulf-Dietrich Reips,et al.  Dimensions of Internet science , 2001 .

[24]  Wayne J. Camara,et al.  Psychological test usage: Implications in professional psychology. , 2000 .

[25]  John L. Smith,et al.  Research on the Internet: Validation of a World-Wide Web mediated personality scale , 1999, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[26]  David W. Nickelson.  Behavioral Telehealth: Emerging Practice, Research, and Policy Opportunities , 1996 .

[27]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Internet paradox. A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? , 1998, The American psychologist.

[28]  Marlene M. Maheu,et al.  Counseling and therapy on the Internet. , 2000 .

[29]  Karen A. Pasveer,et al.  The making of a personality inventory: Help from the WWW , 1998 .

[30]  Katelyn Y. A. McKenna,et al.  Plan 9 From Cyberspace: The Implications of the Internet for Personality and Social Psychology , 2000 .

[31]  S. A. King,et al.  Internet therapy and self-help groups—the pros and cons. , 1998 .

[32]  A. Beck,et al.  An inventory for measuring depression. , 1961, Archives of general psychiatry.

[33]  Charles Zaylor,et al.  Cyberspace: Creating a therapeutic environment for telehealth applications. , 2000 .

[34]  Steven R. Williams,et al.  The Internet versus the telephone: What is telehealth anyway? , 2000 .

[35]  S. Levine,et al.  Assessment of suicide risk by computer‐delivered self‐rating questionnaire: preliminary findings , 1989, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[36]  J. Vicky Laszlo,et al.  Therapy Over the Internet? Theory, Research, and Finances , 1999, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..