Internal Structure of the Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire (WFCQ) in Teacher Teleworking.

The interference between family and work roles has led to the development of scales for their measurement. However, instrumental studies of work-family conflict have not been conducted in the context of teacher teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, the objectives of this study were set to obtain evidence of the internal structure and fairness of the Blanch and Aluja Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire, as well as its association with job satisfaction and other sociodemographic variables. A total of 235 Peruvian school teachers between the ages of 24 and 72 years (M = 43.79 and SD = 9.67) responded to the scale using the online form. The analysis employed the non-parametric item response theory modeling (Mokken scaling analysis). The structure of two correlated factors was confirmed: work conflict in the family (WCF) and family conflict in the work (FCW). Both dimensions were invariant with respect to sex group and educational level. The association of both dimensions with job satisfaction was theoretically convergent, and the gender of the teachers slightly moderated this relationship. The reliability was adequate for group research. Finally, the instrument can be useful in the organizational context of teachers who telework.

Initial Psychometric Evidence of Physical Inactivity Perceived Experience Scale (Pipes): COVID-19 Pandemic as a Pilot Study.

Aims: Our study aimed to develop a two-factor self-administered orthogonal questionnaire to assess the experience of perceived physical inactivity, to test its psychometric properties, to confirm its relationships with fear of COVID-19, and finally, with perceived stress during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 481 Tunisian subjects collected in several cities, aged from 16 to 67 years with a mean age = 32.48 ± 9.46, and of both sexes participate in our study with (male: 51.8%) and (female: 48.2%), divided according to the level of study into three categories. All subjects voluntarily answered the PIPES questionnaire, the IPAQ scale, the COVID-19 fear scale and the PSS-10 test. Results: The results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported the robustness of the tool measure. In addition, examination of configurational, metric, scalar, and strict invariance supported the equivalence of the structure by gender and educational level. Concurrent validity was established by the positive association of a negative perception of physical inactivity with scores measured by the IPAQ scale and a negative association with scores of COVID-19 fear and perceived stress. Whereas, a positive perception of physical inactivity from the COVID-19 scale was negatively associated with the IPAQ and positively associated with fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress. Conclusion: The PIPES-10 scale can be used to measure the perception of physical inactivity in different situations.

How does COVID stress vary across the anxiety-related disorders? Assessing factorial invariance and changes in COVID Stress Scale scores during the pandemic.

BACKGROUND: No studies have examined whether levels of COVID stress vary across anxiety-related disorders. Likewise, no studies have assessed structural invariance of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) across clinical diagnoses. We sought to address these issues in the present study. Given the dynamic nature of pandemics, we also assessed whether COVID stress changed from the first to third wave in those with clinical diagnoses and those with no mental health conditions. METHOD: Data were collected during COVID-19 from two independent samples of adults assessed about a year apart (early-mid in 2020, N = 6854; and early-mid 2021, N = 5812) recruited from Canada and the United States through an online survey. Participants provided demographic information, indicated the presence of current (i.e., past-year) anxiety-related or mood disorder, and completed the CSS. RESULTS: The five CSS were reliable (internally consistent), and the five-factor structure was stable across samples. Scores tended to be highest in people with anxiety-related or mood disorders, particularly panic disorder. As expected, scores fluctuated over time, being higher during the early phases of the pandemic when threat was greatest and lower during the later phases, when vaccines were deployed and the COVID-19 threat was reduced. CONCLUSION: The findings add to the growing number of studies supporting the psychometric properties of the CSS. The results encourage further investigations into the utility of the scales, such as their ability to detect treatment-related changes in COVID-19-related distress. The scales also show promise for studies of future pandemics or outbreaks because the CSS can be modified, with minor wording changes, to assess distress associated with all kinds of disease outbreaks.

Validation, Factorial Invariance, and Latent Mean Differences Across Sex of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21) in Ecuadorian University Sample

Public Significance Statement The present study validated a Spanish and online version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21) among Ecuadorian university students. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in the educational context is high. Consequently, the present study has confirmed the factorial invariance and the nonexistence of statistically significant differences in the latent scores across sex. These findings allow the possibility of measuring the scores of depression, anxiety, and stress without bias in a new reality provoked by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in which paper questionnaires could be replaced by online questionnaires. The prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression is a topic of concern for general population but also for the educational context. Consequently, due to the great rates of anxiety, depression, and stress problems in undergraduates, the use of a standardized instrument to accurately detect these constructs in the university context is needed. As a result, the present study pretends to examine the psychometric characteristics of the online version of the short Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21) in Ecuadorian university sample, including the validation, and the testing of factorial invariance and latent differences analyses based on sex. The total of individuals that formed the sample were 3,060 students (M (age) = 22.7, SD = 2.46) from the Central University of Ecuador, and they participated via the internet, fulfilling the 21 items that formed the DASS-21. Regarding the results, the three-factor structure of the online version of the DASS-21 was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis, adequate internal consistency values and factorial invariance based on sex were confirmed, and no statistically significant latent mean differences in the scale across sex were found. In consequence, the results of the current investigation give a reliable, consistent, and online measure of stress, anxiety, and depression, which could help to assess and treat emotional problems originated among the Ecuadorian university population.