Sora Beatriz, Nieto Rubén, Montesano Del Campo Adrian, Armayones Manuel
Department of Psychology, Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain.
Department of Psychology, eHealth Center, Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain.
JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Oct 15;8(10):e22199. doi: 10.2196/22199.
Telepsychology is increasingly being incorporated in clinical practice, being offered in many psychotherapy centers, especially after the impact of the pandemic. However, there seems to be a remarkable discrepancy between the offer, or interest in, and real-world uptake of e-mental health interventions among the population. A critical precondition is clients' willingness to accept and use telepsychology, although this issue has thus far been overlooked in research.
The aim of this study was to examine people's acceptance and use of telepsychology by adopting an extended model of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) that integrates perceived telepsychology advantages and barriers, usefulness perceptions, behavioral intention, and telepsychology use.
An online survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 514 participants. Structural equation models were computed to test a mediation model.
Results supported the UTAUT model to explain participants' acceptance and use of telepsychology. They showed a causal chain in which perceived telepsychology advantages and barriers were related to telepsychology use through the perceived usefulness of and intention to use telepsychology.
Telepsychology use may be explained according to the UTAUT model when coupled with participants' perceptions of telepsychology advantages and barriers. Mental health stakeholders could consider these factors in order to increase the acceptance and use of telepsychology.
远程心理学越来越多地被纳入临床实践，许多心理治疗中心都提供此项服务，尤其是在疫情影响之后。然而，在电子心理健康干预措施的提供、人们对其的兴趣与实际应用之间，似乎存在显著差异。一个关键前提是客户愿意接受和使用远程心理学，尽管这一问题在研究中迄今被忽视。
本研究的目的是通过采用技术接受与使用统一理论（UTAUT）的扩展模型来检验人们对远程心理学的接受和使用情况，该模型整合了感知到的远程心理学优势与障碍、有用性认知、行为意图以及远程心理学的使用。
对514名参与者的便利样本进行了在线调查。计算结构方程模型以检验中介模型。
结果支持UTAUT模型来解释参与者对远程心理学的接受和使用情况。结果显示出一条因果链，即感知到的远程心理学优势与障碍通过对远程心理学的感知有用性和使用意图与远程心理学的使用相关。
结合参与者对远程心理学优势和障碍的认知，可根据UTAUT模型来解释远程心理学的使用情况。心理健康利益相关者可考虑这些因素，以提高对远程心理学的接受和使用程度。
