Anonymous Versus Self-Identified Response Formats for School Mental Health Screening - Assessment for Effective Intervention 2022, Vol. 47(2) 112-117

Oct 15, 2026

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Schools provide essential mental health supports through universal screening that identifies students needing help and supports district- or state-level policy surveillance. Schools collect mental health data using anonymous or self-identified response formats depending on screening purpose, yet many surveys lack psychometric evidence for both formats. This study tested response comparability of the SEHS-S in two formats among one high school cohort. Full measurement invariance and latent mean differences were found, informing schoolwide interpretation and use.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background and purpose

Study design and participants

Measurement and key findings

Implications for schoolwide use

Anonymous Versus Self-Identified Response Formats for School Mental Health Screening Assessment for Effective Intervention 2022, Vol. 47(2) 112–117 © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2020 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/1534508420959439](DOI: 10.1177/1534508420959439)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/1534508420959439)[aei.sagepub.com](aei.sagepub.com) Rhea Wagle, MEd 1, Erin Dowdy, PhD 1, Michael J. Furlong, PhD 1, Karen Nylund-Gibson, PhD 1, Delwin Carter, MEd 1, and Tameisha Hinton, MEd 1 Abstract Schools are an essential setting for mental health supports and services for students. To support student well-being, schools engage in universal mental health screening to identify students in need of support and to provide surveillance data for district-wide or state-wide policy changes. Mental health data have been collected via anonymous and self-identified response formats depending on the purpose of the screening (i.e., surveillance and screening, respectively). However, most surveys do not provide psychometric evidence for use in both types of response formats. The current study examined whether responses to the Social Emotional Health Survey–Secondary (SEHS-S), a school mental health survey, are comparable when administered using anonymous versus self-identified response formats. The study participants were from one high school and completed the SEHS-S using self-identified (n = 1,700) and anonymous (n = 1,667) formats. Full measurement invariance was found across the two response formats. Both substantial and minimal latent mean differences were detected. Implications for the use and interpretation of the SEHS-S for schoolwide mental health are discussed. Keywords universal screening, school-based, anonymous, identified, Social Emotional Health Survey–Secondary Universal screening is often the first step in identifying, preventing, and treating mental health problems (Levitt et al., 2007), and the number of schools participating in universal mental health screening has increased over the past decade (Bruhn et al., 2014) . Universal screening assesses an entire population, often via student self-report, whereby students either anonymously or via identifiable means report on their mental health functioning. There are two main approaches for school-based universal mental health screening, aligned with principles of public health and population-based assessment (Doll & Cummings, 2008) . One approach is to gather information on students’ mental health to direct prevention and treatment services for specific students. When schools engage in screening to identify specific at-risk students, the responses need to be self-identifiable; that is, when providing assent and before responding, the student is aware that their answers will be known, confidentially, to responsible school staff. The other approach gathers information about an entire population for surveillance purposes, often to aid in developing schoolwide or district-wide prevention and intervention services in addition to policy changes. Schools interested in surveillance data can employ an anonymous survey format. Regardless of the primary purpose, it is critical to understand better how the response format might affect the quality of student responses. This report examines anonymous and self-identified survey formats within the context of universal school-based mental health screening. Past research has identified survey response differences depending on whether they are collected using selfidentified or anonymous formats. This research shows that participants tend to disclose higher degrees of stigmatizing or sensitive information (i.e., mental health symptoms) on anonymous rather than identifiable surveys (e.g., Beebeet al., 2006) . Social desirability bias, or the tendency for participants to endorse more socially desirable responses, can affect resp

FAQs

What is the main focus of this study?

The study examines whether SEHS-S responses are comparable when administered using anonymous versus self-identified response formats in school mental health screening.

Why do schools use anonymous versus self-identified formats?

Schools use self-identified formats when screening is meant to identify specific at-risk students, while anonymous formats are used for surveillance purposes to support broader prevention and policy changes.

What did the study find about measurement across the two formats?

Full measurement invariance was found across anonymous and self-identified response formats, with both substantial and minimal latent mean differences detected.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Aran