www.PeaceTest.org: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Web-Based War-Prevention Program in a Time of War

Abstract

Collective violence is a major cause of death, illness, and suffering. The theory of moral disengagement offers a framework for understanding and preventing violence between nations, and the Internet provides a vehicle for reaching a diverse population with a war-prevention program. The objectives of the PeaceTest project were to develop, implement, and evaluate a theory-based interactive website to be used as a war-prevention intervention for a general audience. The open-access site www.PeaceTest.org is an intervention to increase visitors' resistance to the cognitive processes of moral disengagement through risk assessment and tailored remediation. Evaluation of the program used a single-group pre-test—posttest design involving self-reported attitudes toward the use of military force. From 13 May to 15 September 2004, the site recorded 7,521 self-selected visitors from around the world; 5,702 (76%) completed the pre-test, and 338 (6%) of these completed the post-test. The intervention effect was examined using paired t-tests. A majority of respondents (75%) recorded PeaceTest scores indicating they were at risk of moral disengagement. Women, medical/public health students, older visitors, and non-US visitors showed significantly greater resistance to moral disengagement than other demographic groups ( p < 0.01). Resistance increased significantly among those who took the post-test ( p < 0.01), especially among women. The number, predisposition, and characteristics of respondents were strongly affected by efforts to promote the site and by the site's launching at a time of intense public sentiment about the US-led war in Iraq. The authors conclude that the PeaceTest project demonstrated the potential to produce change in war-promoting attitudes in an unrestricted population, though findings must be interpreted in the light of study-design limitations. Controversy and publicity can briefly generate a large audience, but that audience may arrive with strong predispositions. Gaining widespread acceptance and use of a web-based public-health approach to war prevention remains a worthwhile challenge.