The development of a self‐report scale to assess therapists' acceptance of telepsychotherapy
Vera Békés, Katie Aafjes‐van Doorn, James McCollum, Tracy A. Prout, Leon Hoffman
Abstract
Abstract Objective We aimed to develop a self‐report measure of therapist acceptance of telepsychotherapy based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework. Methods Using a cross‐sectional survey design, 1265 therapists completed the UTAUT‐T, as well as additional questions. Results Confirmatory analysis indicated that the original UTAUT model did not fit the therapist context well. Exploratory factor analysis specified a better‐fitting five‐factor model, which showed good internal validity fit ( χ 2 = 17,753.36, RMSEA = 0.063, TLI = 0.886, SRMSR = 0.04). The five UTAUT‐T subscales showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.86) and together predicted the intention to use online therapy in the future ( R 2 = 0.42, F (5, 1259) = 181.9, p < 0.001). Conclusion The 21‐item UTAUT‐T offers a promising self‐report measure of therapist acceptance of telepsychotherapy and intention towards using it in the future. Future studies on the convergent and predictive validity of the UTAUT‐T are warranted.