Prevalence and predictors of distress associated with completion of an online survey assessing mental health and suicidality in the community

Abstract

While there is evidence that mental health surveys do not typically increase distress, limited research has examined distress in online surveys. The study investigated whether completion of a 60-min online community-based mental health survey (n = 3620) was associated with reliable increases in psychological distress. 2.5% of respondents had a reliable increase in distress, compared to 5.0% with a reliable decrease, and decreased distress overall across the sample (Cohen's d = -0.22, p < 0.001). Initial depression/anxiety symptoms were associated with increased distress, but suicidality was not. Online mental health surveys are associated with low prevalence of increased distress.

Keywords: Distress; Internet; Mental health; Suicide; Survey.