COMPUTERIZED TESTING IN A HOSPITAL SETTING - PSYCHOMETRIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS

The aim of the studies reported here was to evaluate a touch-screen co mputer-based (CB) test administration system in a 'real-life', hospita l setting, by comparing it with an ordinary paper-and-pencil (PP) admi nistration routine. A heterogeneous set of tests were selected, includ ing a mood adjective checklist, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a nd a performance intelligence test. A total of 57 patients were random ly allocated to two groups. CB and PP versions of the tests were admin istered to the groups at different occasions, and in different orders for the two groups. Mean test results were comparable for the two vers ions, with a tendency for the BDI to yield higher scores with the CB v ersion. A post hoc analysis was made using the BDI data: two subsets o f items were compared, one with neutral and the other with 'sensitive' content. The 'sensitive' subset showed significantly higher mean scor es and fewer 'no problem' answers with the CB than with the PP version . Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd