The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and Initial Validation
Int. J. Ment. Health Addict.
; 2020.
Article
in English
| WHO COVID, ELSEVIER | ID: covidwho-1899276
ABSTRACT
Background:
The emergence of the COVID-19 and its consequences has led to fears, worries, and anxiety among individuals worldwide. The present study developed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) to complement the clinical efforts in preventing the spread and treating of COVID-19 cases.Methods:
The sample comprised 717 Iranian participants. The items of the FCV-19S were constructed based on extensive review of existing scales on fears, expert evaluations, and participant interviews. Several psychometric tests were conducted to ascertain its reliability and validity properties.Results:
After panel review and corrected item-total correlation testing, seven items with acceptable corrected item-total correlation (0.47 to 0.56) were retained and further confirmed by significant and strong factor loadings (0.66 to 0.74). Also, other properties evaluated using both classical test theory and Rasch model were satisfactory on the seven-item scale. More specifically, reliability values such as internal consistency (α =.82) and test–retest reliability (ICC =.72) were acceptable. Concurrent validity was supported by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (with depression, r = 0.425 and anxiety, r = 0.511) and the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Scale (with perceived infectability, r = 0.483 and germ aversion, r = 0.459).Conclusion:
The Fear of COVID-19 Scale, a seven-item scale, has robust psychometric properties. It is reliable and valid in assessing fear of COVID-19 among the general population and will also be useful in allaying COVID-19 fears among individuals.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
WHO COVID
/
ELSEVIER
/
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Case report
/
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Ment Health Addict
/
Int. J. Ment. Health Addict.
Year:
2020
/
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S11469-020-00270-8
Institution/Affiliation country:
Department of Nursing/Sweden
/
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences/hkg
/
International Gaming Research Unit/United Kingdom
/
Pediatric Health Research Center/Iran
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS