(Don't fear) the factors: An item-level meta-analysis of the fear of COVID-19 Scale's factor structure and measurement invariance.
Stress Health
; 40(5): e3472, 2024 Oct.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39243275
ABSTRACT
The global COVID-19 pandemic saw marked research and clinical interest in evaluating pandemic-related distress, namely fear and anxiety regarding infection and death. The most widely used and earliest developed measure of COVID-19 distress is Ahorsu et al. (2022) seven-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). To investigate the factor structure and measurement equivalence of the FCV-19S, we conducted an item-level meta-analysis synthesizing 1155 effect sizes across k = 55 independent samples comprising N = 71,161 individuals. We found that a two-factor measurement model comprising a four-item Emotional factor and a three-item Psychosomatic factor exhibits better fit than the originally proposed single-factor measurement model. Moreover, the bidimensional FCV-19S exhibits partial scalar/strong invariance across the general population, healthcare workers, schoolteachers, and university students as well as partial metric/weak invariance across samples from Bangladesh, China, Japan, Pakistan, Poland, and Portugal. Despite the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, more primary research across a wider range of sample types and countries is undoubtedly needed for further evaluation of the FCV-19S's psychometric properties and generalizability.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Psicometria
/
Medo
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COVID-19
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Stress Health
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Stress and health (Online)
/
Stress health (Online)
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos
País de publicação:
Reino Unido