The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and Initial Validation

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction - Tập 20 Số 3 - Trang 1537-1545 - 2022
Daniel Kwasi Ahorsu1, Chung‐Ying Lin1, Vida Imani2, Mohsen Saffari3, Mark D. Griffiths4, Amir H. Pakpour5
1Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
2 Pediatric Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
3Health Research Center, Life Style Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, 50 Shakespeare Street, Nottingham, NG1 4FQ, UK
5Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Research Institute for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Bahonar Blvd., Qazvin, 3419759811, Iran

Tóm tắt

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.

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International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

Tập 20 Số 3

1537-1545

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