Cross-cultural invariance of the Spanish version of the COVID-19 Assessment Scorecard to measure the perception of government actions against COVID-19 in Latin America

Abstract Objectives The present study aimed to evaluate the measurement invariance of a general measure of the perception of governmental responses to COVID--19 (COVID-SCORE-10) in the general population of 13 Latin American countries. Methods A total of 5780 individuals from 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries selected by non-probabilistic snowball sampling participated. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed and the alignment method was used to evaluate invariance. Additionally, a graded response model was used for the assessment of item characteristics. Results The results indicate that there is approximate measurement invariance of the COVID-SCORE-10 among the participating countries. Furthermore, IRT results suggest that the COVID-SCORE-10 measures with good psychometric ability a broad spectrum of the construct assessed, especially around average levels. Comparison of COVID-SCORE-10 scores indicated that participants from Cuba, Uruguay and El Salvador had the most positive perceptions of government actions to address the pandemic. Thus, the underlying construct of perception of government actions was equivalent in all countries. Conclusion The results show the importance of initially establishing the fundamental measurement properties and MI before inferring the cross-cultural universality of the construct to be measured.

The impact of Covid-19 on Latin American Psychology: research, profession, and public policy / O impacto da Covid-19 na Psicologia Latino-Americana: pesquisa, profissão e políticas públicas

In this paper, we offer an in-depth analysis of relevant scientific literature and a series of critical reflections based on a narrative review of the impact that the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic had on Latin American psychology. We performed a non-exhaustive search, selection, and analysis of different documentary sources in scientific databases, institutional repositories, and websites of national and regional psychology organizations between May 25 and 31, 2020. In particular, we consulted SciELO, Redalyc, Dialnet, and Google Scholar using the following individual key words associated to psychology: "Coronavirus", "Covid-19" and "Pandemic". Various types of documents were retrieved for a subsequent in-depth analysis (e.g., articles, institutional documents, notes, bulletins, recommendation guides, etc.). Our review allowed us to identify three challenges for psychology in the region: (1) insertion of psychology in public policies; (2) construction of an own agenda of psychological research; (3) evaluation of practices and reorientation of professional training processes.

Neste artigo, é oferecida uma análise aprofundada da literatura científica relevante e uma série de reflexões críticas baseadas em uma revisão narrativa do impacto que os estágios iniciais da pandemia de Covid-19 tiveram na psicologia latino-americana. Foi realizada uma busca não exaustiva, seleção e análise de diferentes fontes documentais em bancos de dados científicos, repositórios institucionais e websites de organizações nacionais e regionais de psicologia entre 25 e 31 de maio de 2020. Em particular, foram consultadas as bases SciELO, Redalyc, Dialnet e Google Scholar usando as seguintes palavras-chave individuais associadas à psicologia: "coronavírus", "Covid-19" e "pandemia". Vários tipos de documentos foram recuperados para uma análise posterior em profundidade (por exemplo: artigos, documentos institucionais, notas, boletins, guias de recomendação, etc.). A revisão feita pelos autores permitiu identificar três desafios para a psicologia na região: (1) inserção da psicologia nas políticas públicas; (2) construção de uma agenda própria de pesquisa psicológica e (3) avaliação das práticas e reorientação dos processos de formação profissional.