Moritz Steffen, Van Quaquebeke Niels, Lincoln Tania M, Köther Ulf, Andreou Christina
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
Schizophr Res Treatment. 2013;2013:457010. doi: 10.1155/2013/457010. Epub 2013 Jul 10.
Online studies are increasingly utilized in applied research. However, lack of external diagnostic verification in many of these investigations is seen as a threat to the reliability of the data. The present study examined the robustness of internet studies on psychosis against simulation. We compared the psychometric properties of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences scale (CAPE), a self-report instrument measuring psychotic symptoms, across three independent samples: (1) participants with a confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia, (2) participants with self-reported schizophrenia who were recruited over the internet, and (3) clinical experts on schizophrenia as well as students who were asked to simulate a person with schizophrenia when completing the CAPE. The CAPE was complemented by a newly developed 4-item psychosis lie scale. Results demonstrate that experts asked to simulate schizophrenia symptoms could be distinguished from real patients: simulators overreported positive symptoms and showed elevated scores on the psychosis lie scale. The present study suggests that simulated answers in online studies on psychosis can be distinguished from authentic responses. Researchers conducting clinical online studies are advised to adopt a number of methodological precautions and to compare the psychometric properties of online studies to established clinical indices to assert the validity of their results.
在线研究在应用研究中越来越多地被使用。然而，许多此类调查缺乏外部诊断验证被视为对数据可靠性的一种威胁。本研究考察了关于精神病的网络研究抵御模拟的稳健性。我们比较了用于测量精神病症状的自陈式量表——精神体验社区评估量表（CAPE）在三个独立样本中的心理测量特性：（1）确诊为精神分裂症的参与者；（2）通过互联网招募的自称患有精神分裂症的参与者；（3）精神分裂症临床专家以及在完成CAPE时被要求模拟精神分裂症患者的学生。CAPE辅以新开发的一个4项精神病说谎量表。结果表明，被要求模拟精神分裂症症状的专家可以与真正的患者区分开来：模拟者过度报告了阳性症状，并且在精神病说谎量表上得分较高。本研究表明，关于精神病的在线研究中的模拟答案可以与真实回答区分开来。建议进行临床在线研究的研究者采取一些方法上的预防措施，并将在线研究的心理测量特性与既定的临床指标进行比较，以确定其结果的有效性。
