A study on the attitude of Polish psychotherapists towards online therapy - Polish adaptation of the UTAUT-T (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology - Therapist version) and verification of the UTAUT-T model.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to verify the psychometric properties of the Polish adaptation of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology - Therapist version (UTAUT-T) and to verify the UTAUT-T model in a group of Polish psychotherapists. A total of 434 people aged 27-66 (M = 40.78; SD = 7.70), including 337 women and 58 men, took part in an online self-report study, which involved completing three questionnaires: UTAUT-T, the short IPIP-BFM-20 Questionnaire for measuring the Big Five, the Technology Readiness Index (TRI 2.0), as well as answers to questions about the use of digital technologies at work. The following analyses were carried out: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha, and theoretical validity analysis - an analysis of the correlation between the subscales of the UTAUT-T instrument and questionnaires enabling the measurement of dimensions which had been indicated in previous research results as related to the acceptance of technology. The conducted analyses showed that the factor structure of the Polish version of UTAUT-T is the same as of the original tool, and the UTAUT-T model was confirmed in the group of Polish psychotherapists. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient for individual subscales ranged from 0.57 to 0.97. The theoretical validity analysis confirmed the expected correlations between most dimensions of technology acceptance and technology readiness. In addition, there were single very weak correlations observed between technology acceptance and personality traits. The psychometric properties of the Polish version of UTAUT-T show satisfactory values. The scale can be used to conduct further research. The UTAUT-T model can be utilized to predict the actual use of new technologies by Polish psychotherapists.