Competencias profesionales en telepsicología: Desarrollo y validación de un modelo trifactorial en contextos clínicos virtuales

José Ignacio Cruz-Gaitán; María del Socorro Pérez-Alcalá; Paulina  Arenas-Landgrave

doi:10.33064/iycuaa2026978488

Authors

José Ignacio Cruz-Gaitán Centro de Estudos da Familia e do Individuo, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0714-7297
María del Socorro Pérez-Alcalá Universidad de Guadalajara https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1764-3008
Paulina Arenas-Landgrave Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0578-5367

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33064/iycuaa2026978488

Keywords:

telepsychology, clinical competencies, virtual practice, confirmatory factor analysis, psychometric validation

Abstract

The accelerated adoption of telepsychology during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed training gaps and the lack of systematic tools to assess professionals’ competencies in virtual practice. This study presents and validates a three-factor scale of competencies (clinical, ethical-technological, and legal) using a cross-sectional quantitative analysis of 160 clinical psychologists from six Latin American countries. Advanced statistical methods (EFA, CFA, and SEM) confirmed the internal structure and factorial consistency of the instrument, with high reliability (α/ω≥0.80) and satisfactory explained variance for each factor. The findings support the internal validity and robustness of the scale, and future research is recommended to extend the sample and examine factorial invariance in transnational applications.

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