Development and validation of the Oxford Pandemic Attitude Scale-COVID-19 (OPAS-C): an internet-based cross-sectional study in the UK and USA.
BMJ Open
; 11(7): e043758, 2021 07 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1311165
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To develop and validate the Oxford Pandemic Attitude Scale-COVID-19 (OPAS-C), a multidimensional scale that addresses seven domains over 20 items including stress, fear, loneliness, sense of community, belief that the pandemic is a hoax or exaggerated, the use of and attitude to non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccine hesitancy, in a single measure.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional validation study.SETTING:
Internet based with respondents in the USA and UK.PARTICIPANTS:
General community respondents using the Prolific Academic platform. MAIN OUTCOMEMEASURES:
Exploratory factor analyses with promax oblique rotation and confirmatory factor analysis including goodness of fit indices root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), standardised root mean square residual (SRMR) and comparative fit index (CFI). Reliability as internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha. Convergent and discriminant validity using Pearson correlation coefficients.RESULTS:
The sample included 351 respondents in the USA and the factorial structure was confirmed using a separate set of 348 respondents in the UK. The OPAS-C had excellent goodness of fit characteristics, with an RMSEA of 0.047 (90% CI 0.037 to 0.056), SRMR of 0.043 and CFI of 0.962. Reliability was excellent, demonstrating Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 in both the US and UK samples. Convergent validity showed correlation coefficients of 0.54 and 0.49 in the US and UK samples, respectively. Discriminant validity demonstrated correlations of 0.21 and 0.26 in the US and UK samples, respectively.CONCLUSIONS:
The OPAS-C represents the first validated scale that addresses mental health measures and public health-relevant responses to COVID-19, and may be a useful measure for use in future longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. Further international validation beyond the USA and UK may be helpful.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
BMJ Open
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bmjopen-2020-043758
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS