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

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