Equivalence of mode of administration: Pencil-and-paper versus Internet-administered psychological assessments used in psychological support

This study investigated the equivalence of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the State-Trait Personality Inventory-Form Y (STPI-Y) between pencil-and-paper and internet modes of administration. The goal was to lend empirical support to the use of these two measures in an internet-administered format. Additionally, the Computer Aversion, Attitudes, and Familiarity Index (CAAFI) and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding- Version 6 (BIDR-6) were added to measure levels of computer anxiety (CAAFI) and socially desirable responding (BIDR-6) to assess if either had a differential impact on the responses to the IES-R and the STPI-Y by mode of administration. The study population used was 170 students at a medium-sized Midwestern university. A counter-balanced test-retest design was utilized, with the pencil-and-paper mode of administration given in a classroom setting and the internet mode of administration given on a computer of the participant's choice. Results indicated that both the IES-R and the STPI-Y can be considered equivalent across modes of administration, and add to the empirical support for the use of both measures in an internet-administered format, with an especially strong statistical performance by the STPI-Y Additionally, the results also indicated that both the CAAFI and the BIDR-6 impact responses differently between modes of administration. Due to differential responses across modes of administration, further exploration of the CAAFI and the BIDR-6 in paper-and-pencil versus internet modes of administration may be needed.