Web-Based Assessment of Mental Well-Being in Early Adolescence: A Reliability Study

Abstract

BackgroundThe ever-increasing use of the Internet among adolescents represents an emerging opportunity for researchers to gain access to larger samples, which can be queried over several years longitudinally. Among adolescents, young adolescents (ages 11 to 13 years) are of particular interest to clinicians as this is a transitional stage, during which depressive and anxiety symptoms often emerge. However, it remains unclear whether these youngest adolescents can accurately answer questions about their mental well-being using a Web-based platform.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to examine the accuracy of responses obtained from Web-based questionnaires by comparing Web-based with paper-and-pencil versions of depression and anxiety questionnaires.MethodsThe primary outcome was the score on the depression and anxiety questionnaires under two conditions: (1) paper-and-pencil and (2) Web-based versions. Twenty-eight adolescents (aged 11-13 years, mean age 12.78 years and SD 0.78; 18 females, 64%) were randomly assigned to complete either the paper-and-pencil or the Web-based questionnaire first. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to measure intrarater reliability. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated separately for depression (Children’s Depression Inventory, CDI) and anxiety (Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale, SCAS) questionnaires.ResultsOn average, it took participants 17 minutes (SD 6) to answer 116 questions online. Intraclass correlation coefficient analysis revealed high intrarater reliability when comparing Web-based with paper-and-pencil responses for both CDI (ICC=.88; P<.001) and the SCAS (ICC=.95; P<.001). According to published criteria, both of these values are in the “almost perfect” category indicating the highest degree of reliability.ConclusionsThe results of the study show an excellent reliability of Web-based assessment in 11- to 13-year-old children as compared with the standard paper-pencil assessment. Furthermore, we found that Web-based assessments with young adolescents are highly feasible, with all enrolled participants completing the Web-based form. As early adolescence is a time of remarkable social and behavioral changes, these findings open up new avenues for researchers from diverse fields who are interested in studying large samples of young adolescents over time.

Subjective Generic Health Literacy and Its Associated Factors among Adolescents: Results of a Population-Based Online Survey in Germany

“…In addition, in paper-and-pencil surveys given answers must occasionally be set to missing values due to illegibility and ambiguity: in our online survey this handling was not necessary as the online survey was programmed in such a way that answers could be clearly assigned to answer categories. With regard to our overall results we assume that very similar results would have been generated with other survey methods, e.g., paper-and pencil surveys, as evidence suggests [72,73].…”

Web-Based Assessment of the Phenomenology of Autobiographical Memories in Young and Older Adults

“…Adolescents are technologically savvy and often prefer to answer questions using a web-based platform compared to the standard paper-and-pencil assessment. Recent studies have already shown that adolescents can accurately and reliably fill in web-based questionnaires about their mental and physical well-being under an unsupervised condition (e.g., [ 66 , 67 , 68 ]).…”

Chronic disease management support in Australian workplaces—low base, rising need

“…Panel surveys also allow an opportunity to conduct otherwise difficult and/or costly research and provide access to participants in much shorter time frames than with more traditional postal or non‐pre‐recruited on‐line surveys . Numerous research studies support the reliability and validity of on‐line surveys for attitudinal and behavioural research and to reach specific groups . The population survey was conducted between November and December 2015.…”

“…20,21 Numerous research studies support the reliability and validity of on-line surveys for attitudinal and behavioural research and to reach specific groups. [22][23][24] The population survey was conducted between November and December 2015. Eligible panel members were reimbursed for the online survey completion by way of a small payment of around $1.00 ($AU) or by accrual of incentives.…”