Attitudes towards psychological online interventions (APOI) in relationship with personality and virtual social integration. Psychometric properties of the APOI questionnaire

In the midst of today’s COVID-19 pandemic, attitudes towards psychological online interventions (POI) in both the general population and many healthcare target groups could become crucial information for healthcare providers. Acceptability of POIs is seen as an important factor contributing to the effectiveness of the implementation online help in healthcare. This article aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Attitudes towards Psychological Online Interventions (APOI-PL) with a sample of volunteers from the community. In Study 1 (N = 304), a confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the original four factors (Anonymity benefits, ABE; Technologization threat, TET; Confidence in effectiveness, CON; Scepticism and perception of risks, SCE) and adequate internal consistency. The APOI-PL demonstrated partial invariance over gender. In Study 2 (N = 162), criterion validity with the use of a personality measure (IPIP NEO-Five Factor Inventory-50) and virtual social integration were shown. The Openness was negatively related to the SCE and ABE, and positively with CON. Agreeableness is related to higher positive attitudes but lower SCE and TET; however, the correlations are low. Virtual integration was not related to the APOI scales, with the exception of the CON, where a low positive correlation was noted.