Computer self-efficacy and anxiety scales for an Internet sample: testing measurement equivalence of existing measures and development of new scales

Two studies investigated the validity of computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety scales when administered to an Internet sample. In the first study, it was found that existing measures of computer self-efficacy and anxiety, originally developed through paper-and-pencil methods with more traditional samples, were not adequately equivalent when administered to a sample that was recruited and tested via the Internet. In the second study, the existing measures were adapted, and new items were developed to create new measures of computer self-efficacy and anxiety. The relationship of these new measures to computer and Internet use behaviors provided evidence for validity. Confidence and aversion were related to computer and Internet use suggesting that these new measures are adequate for capturing confidence and aversion towards computers when administered to an Internet sample. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.