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

doi:10.1007/S11469-020-00270-8

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

Journal Article•DOI•

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

Daniel Kwasi Ahorsu¹, Chung Ying Lin¹, Vida Imani², Mohsen Saffari³, Mark D. Griffiths⁴, Amir H. Pakpour⁵, Amir H. Pakpour⁶ - Show less +3 more•Institutions (6)

Hong Kong Polytechnic University¹, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences², Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences³, Nottingham Trent University⁴, Jönköping University⁵, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences⁶

27 Mar 2020-International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (Springer)-pp 1-9

TL;DR: The FCV-19S, a seven-item scale, has robust psychometric properties and is reliable and valid in assessing fear of COVID-19 among the general population and will also be useful in allaying CO VID-19 fears among individuals.

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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) t ...

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Journal Article•DOI•

Functional Fear Predicts Public Health Compliance in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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Craig A. Harper¹, Liam Satchell², Dean Fido³, Robert D. Latzman⁴•Institutions (4)

Nottingham Trent University¹, University of Winchester², University of Derby³, Georgia State University⁴

01 Oct 2021-International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

TL;DR: A large international community sample was recruited to complete measures of self-perceived risk of contracting COVID-19, fear of the virus, moral foundations, political orientation, and behavior change in response to the pandemic, and the only predictor of positive behavior change was fear of COVID -19, with no effect of politically relevant variables.

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Abstract: In the current context of the global pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), health professionals are working with social scientists to inform government policy on how to slow the spread of the virus. An increasing amount of social scientific research has looked at the role of public message framing, for instance, but few studies have thus far examined the role of individual differences in emotional and personality-based variables in predicting virus-mitigating behaviors. In this study, we recruited a large international community sample (N = 324) to complete measures of self-perceived risk of contracting COVID-19, fear of the virus, moral foundations, political orientation, and behavior change in response to the pandemic. Consistently, the only predictor of positive behavior change (e.g., social distancing, improved hand hygiene) was fear of COVID-19, with no effect of politically relevant variables. We discuss these data in relation to the potentially functional nature of fear in global health crises.

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913 citations

Cites background or methods from "The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Develop..."

...According to Ahorsu et al. (2020), one unique feature of pandemic viral infections is the fear that they can instill across large swathes of the population....
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...…mismatch between established psychopathological research into the potential utility and fear and anxiety in reducing risky behaviors, and the suggestion by Ahorsu et al. (2020) that fear might be considered a unidirectional precursor to psychopathological responses within the current context....
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...The Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale (FCV-19S; Ahorsu et al. 2020) The FCV-19S consists of 7 items (e....
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...That is, scores on the recently developed FCV-19S (Ahorsu et al. 2020), which specifically measures “fear” toward the new virus, consistently predicted engaging in culturally and governmentally recommended public health behaviors (e.g., improved hand hygiene and social distancing)....
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...That is, scores on the recently developed FCV-19S (Ahorsu et al. 2020), which specifically measures “fear” toward the new virus, consistently predicted engaging in culturally and governmentally recommended public health behaviors (e....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Fear of the coronavirus (COVID-19): Predictors in an online study conducted in March 2020.

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Gaëtan Mertens¹, Gaëtan Mertens², Lotte Gerritsen¹, Stefanie Duijndam², Elske Salemink¹, Iris M. Engelhard¹ - Show less +2 more•Institutions (2)

Utrecht University¹, Tilburg University²

02 Apr 2020-Journal of Anxiety Disorders

TL;DR: Four predictors of fear of the coronavirus were found in a simultaneous regression analysis and 16 different topics of concern were identified based on participants’ open-ended responses, including the health of loved ones, health care systems overload, and economic consequences.

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736 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Development and initial validation of the COVID Stress Scales.

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Steven Taylor¹, Caeleigh A. Landry², Michelle M. Paluszek², Thomas A. Fergus³, Dean McKay⁴, Gordon J.G. Asmundson² - Show less +2 more•Institutions (4)

University of British Columbia¹, University of Regina², Baylor University³, Fordham University⁴

01 May 2020-Journal of Anxiety Disorders

TL;DR: The authors developed the 36-item COVID Stress Scales (CSS) to measure these features, as they pertain to COVID-19, to better understand and assess COVID19-related distress.

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690 citations

Cites background from "The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Develop..."

...To date, there has been little empirical attention devoted to this issue; indeed, while several measures of COVID-19-related fears have recently emerged (e.g., Ahorsu et al., 2020) , they tend to be unidimensional (i.e., focused on general fear aspects of and are based on limited psychometric evaluation....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Depression and Anxiety in Hong Kong during COVID-19.

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Edmond Pui Hang Choi¹, Bryant P. H. Hui¹, Eric Yuk Fai Wan¹•Institutions (1)

University of Hong Kong¹

25 May 2020-International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

TL;DR: Multiple logistic regression analysis found that not experiencing the SARS outbreak in 2003, being worried about being infected by COVID-19, being bothered by having not enough surgical masks andbeing bothered by not being able to work from home were associated with a poorer mental health status.

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Abstract: It has been three months since the first confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hong Kong, and people now have a more complete picture of the extent of the pandemic. Therefore, it is time to evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health. The current population-based study aimed to evaluate the depression and anxiety of people in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents were randomly recruited and asked to complete a structured questionnaire, including the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7), the global rating of change scale and items related to COVID-19. Of the 500 respondents included in the study, 19% had depression (PHQ-9 score ≥ 10) and 14% had anxiety (GAD score ≥ 10). In addition, 25.4% reported that their mental health had deteriorated since the pandemic. Multiple logistic regression analysis found that not experiencing the SARS outbreak in 2003, being worried about being infected by COVID-19, being bothered by having not enough surgical masks and being bothered by not being able to work from home were associated with a poorer mental health status. Psychological support, such as brief, home-based psychological interventions, should be provided to citizens during the pandemic.

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563 citations

Cites background from "The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Develop..."

...Recent studies among Italian [36] and Iranian [37] populations found that fear of COVID-19 was significantly correlated with depression and anxiety, as measured by the hospital anxiety and depression scale; the authors also explained that fear of COVID-19 may be exacerbated by coexisting depression and anxiety disorders [36]....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Adaptation of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Its Association with Psychological Distress and Life Satisfaction in Turkey.

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Begum Satici¹, Emine Gocet-Tekin², M. Engin Deniz³, Seydi Ahmet Satici¹•Institutions (3)

Artvin Çoruh University¹, Sakarya University², Yıldız Technical University³

01 Dec 2021-International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

TL;DR: In this article, the authors adapted the Fear of COVID-19 Scale into Turkish and investigated the relationship between fear of the pandemic and psychological distress, psychological distress and life satisfaction.

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Abstract: The world is currently experiencing a pandemic of an infectious disease called COVID-19 which has drawn global intensive attention. While global attention is largely focusing on the effects of the coronavirus on physical health, the impacts of the coronavirus on psychological health cannot be overlooked. Therefore, this study aims to adapt the Fear of COVID-19 Scale into Turkish and investigate the relationships between fear of COVID-19, psychological distress, and life satisfaction. Data were collected by convenience sampling method, which allowed us to reach total 1304 participants, aged between 18 and 64 years, from 75 cities in Turkey. In the adaptation process of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, confirmatory factor analysis, Item Response Theory, convergent validity, and reliability (Cronbach's α, McDonald's ω, Guttmann's λ6, and composite reliability) analyses were performed. Additionally, the mediating role of psychological distress on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction was tested. The uni-dimensionality of the 7-item scale was confirmed on a Turkish sample. Item Response Theory revealed that all items were coherent and fit with the model. The results indicated that the Turkish version of the scale had satisfactory reliability coefficients. The fear of COVID-19 was found to be associated with psychological distress and life satisfaction. Results indicated that the Turkish version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale had strong psychometric properties. This scale will allow mental health professionals to do research on the psychological impacts of COVID-19 in Turkey.

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550 citations

Cites background from "The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Develop..."

...Based on guidelines proposed by Baker (2001), an α value > 1.0 is considered highly discriminant....
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References

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Journal Article•DOI•

Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China

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Chaolin Huang¹, Yeming Wang², Xingwang Li³, Lili Ren⁴, Jianping Zhao⁵, Yi Hu⁵, Li Zhang¹, Guohui Fan², Jiuyang Xu⁶, Xiaoying Gu², Zhenshun Cheng⁷, Ting Yu¹, Jia'an Xia¹, Yuan Wei¹, Wenjuan Wu¹, Xuelei Xie¹, Wen Yin⁵, Li Hui², Min Liu², Yan Xiao⁴, Hong Gao⁴, Li Guo⁴, Jungang Xie⁵, Guang-Fa Wang⁸, Rongmeng Jiang³, Zhancheng Gao⁸, Qi Jin⁴, Jianwei Wang⁴, Bin Cao² - Show less +25 more•Institutions (8)

Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital¹, China-Japan Friendship Hospital², Capital Medical University³, Peking Union Medical College⁴, Huazhong University of Science and Technology⁵, Tsinghua University⁶, Wuhan University⁷, Peking University⁸

24 Jan 2020-The Lancet

TL;DR: The epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics and treatment and clinical outcomes of patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection in Wuhan, China, were reported.

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36,578 citations

"The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Develop..." refers background in this paper

...The emergence of the COVID-19 (Guan et al. 2020; Huang et al. 2020) and its pandemic nature has exacerbated fears worldwide leading to stigma in some cases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2020a, b; Lin 2020)....
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...Indeed, fear of contacting individuals who are possibly infected by COVID-19 has been reported (Lin 2020)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China.

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Wei-jie Guan¹, Zhengyi Ni¹, Yu Hu¹, Wenhua Liang¹, Chun-Quan Ou¹, Jianxing He¹, Lei Liu¹, Hong Shan¹, Chunliang Lei¹, David S.C. Hui¹, Bin Du¹, Lanjuan Li¹, Guang Zeng¹, Kowk-Yung Yuen¹, Ruchong Chen¹, Chun-Li Tang¹, Tao Wang¹, Ping-Yan Chen¹, Jie Xiang¹, Shiyue Li¹, Jinlin Wang¹, Zi-jing Liang¹, Yi-xiang Peng¹, Li Wei¹, Yong Liu¹, Ya-hua Hu¹, Peng Peng¹, Jian-ming Wang¹, Ji-yang Liu¹, Zhong Chen¹, Gang Li¹, Zhi-jian Zheng¹, Shao-qin Qiu¹, Jie Luo¹, Chang-jiang Ye¹, Shao-yong Zhu¹, Nanshan Zhong¹ - Show less +33 more•Institutions (1)

Guangzhou Medical University¹

28 Feb 2020-The New England Journal of Medicine

TL;DR: During the first 2 months of the current outbreak, Covid-19 spread rapidly throughout China and caused varying degrees of illness, and patients often presented without fever, and many did not have abnormal radiologic findings.

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Abstract: Background Since December 2019, when coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) emerged in Wuhan city and rapidly spread throughout China, data have been needed on the clinical characteristics of...

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22,622 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China.

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Dawei Wang¹, Bo Hu¹, Chang Hu¹, Fangfang Zhu¹, Xing Liu¹, Jing Zhang¹, Binbin Wang¹, Hui Xiang¹, Zhenshun Cheng¹, Yong Xiong¹, Yan Zhao¹, Yirong Li¹, Xinghuan Wang¹, Zhiyong Peng¹ - Show less +10 more•Institutions (1)

Wuhan University¹

17 Mar 2020-JAMA

TL;DR: The epidemiological and clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)-infected pneumonia in Wuhan, China, and hospital-associated transmission as the presumed mechanism of infection for affected health professionals and hospitalized patients are described.

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Abstract: Importance In December 2019, novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)–infected pneumonia (NCIP) occurred in Wuhan, China. The number of cases has increased rapidly but information on the clinical characteristics of affected patients is limited. Objective To describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of NCIP. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective, single-center case series of the 138 consecutive hospitalized patients with confirmed NCIP at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, China, from January 1 to January 28, 2020; final date of follow-up was February 3, 2020. Exposures Documented NCIP. Main Outcomes and Measures Epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological, and treatment data were collected and analyzed. Outcomes of critically ill patients and noncritically ill patients were compared. Presumed hospital-related transmission was suspected if a cluster of health professionals or hospitalized patients in the same wards became infected and a possible source of infection could be tracked. Results Of 138 hospitalized patients with NCIP, the median age was 56 years (interquartile range, 42-68; range, 22-92 years) and 75 (54.3%) were men. Hospital-associated transmission was suspected as the presumed mechanism of infection for affected health professionals (40 [29%]) and hospitalized patients (17 [12.3%]). Common symptoms included fever (136 [98.6%]), fatigue (96 [69.6%]), and dry cough (82 [59.4%]). Lymphopenia (lymphocyte count, 0.8 × 109/L [interquartile range {IQR}, 0.6-1.1]) occurred in 97 patients (70.3%), prolonged prothrombin time (13.0 seconds [IQR, 12.3-13.7]) in 80 patients (58%), and elevated lactate dehydrogenase (261 U/L [IQR, 182-403]) in 55 patients (39.9%). Chest computed tomographic scans showed bilateral patchy shadows or ground glass opacity in the lungs of all patients. Most patients received antiviral therapy (oseltamivir, 124 [89.9%]), and many received antibacterial therapy (moxifloxacin, 89 [64.4%]; ceftriaxone, 34 [24.6%]; azithromycin, 25 [18.1%]) and glucocorticoid therapy (62 [44.9%]). Thirty-six patients (26.1%) were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) because of complications, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (22 [61.1%]), arrhythmia (16 [44.4%]), and shock (11 [30.6%]). The median time from first symptom to dyspnea was 5.0 days, to hospital admission was 7.0 days, and to ARDS was 8.0 days. Patients treated in the ICU (n = 36), compared with patients not treated in the ICU (n = 102), were older (median age, 66 years vs 51 years), were more likely to have underlying comorbidities (26 [72.2%] vs 38 [37.3%]), and were more likely to have dyspnea (23 [63.9%] vs 20 [19.6%]), and anorexia (24 [66.7%] vs 31 [30.4%]). Of the 36 cases in the ICU, 4 (11.1%) received high-flow oxygen therapy, 15 (41.7%) received noninvasive ventilation, and 17 (47.2%) received invasive ventilation (4 were switched to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). As of February 3, 47 patients (34.1%) were discharged and 6 died (overall mortality, 4.3%), but the remaining patients are still hospitalized. Among those discharged alive (n = 47), the median hospital stay was 10 days (IQR, 7.0-14.0). Conclusions and Relevance In this single-center case series of 138 hospitalized patients with confirmed NCIP in Wuhan, China, presumed hospital-related transmission of 2019-nCoV was suspected in 41% of patients, 26% of patients received ICU care, and mortality was 4.3%.

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16,635 citations

"The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Develop..." refers background in this paper

...However, current treatment on COVID-19 worldwide has mainly focused on infection control, effective vaccine, and treatment cure rate (Dong et al. 2020; Wang et al. 2020)....
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...The most common symptoms within 2–14 days include fever, fatigue, dry cough, myalgia, and dyspnea (Wang et al. 2020)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Discovering drugs to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

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Liying Dong¹, Shasha Hu¹, Jianjun Gao¹•Institutions (1)

Qingdao University¹

08 Mar 2020-Drug discoveries and therapeutics

TL;DR: This article summarizes agents with potential efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and indicates some promising results have been achieved thus far.

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Abstract: The SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged in December 2019 and then spread rapidly worldwide, particularly to China, Japan, and South Korea. Scientists are endeavoring to find antivirals specific to the virus. Several drugs such as chloroquine, arbidol, remdesivir, and favipiravir are currently undergoing clinical studies to test their efficacy and safety in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China; some promising results have been achieved thus far. This article summarizes agents with potential efficacy against SARS-CoV-2.

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1,069 citations

"The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Develop..." refers background in this paper

...Other studies have shown that negative effects of psychological reactions such as hypochondriasis and anxiety affect individuals’ health and well being during times of infectious epidemic crisis (Duncan et al. 2009; Pappas et al. 2009; Ropeik 2004)....
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...Participants respond to each item on a seven-point scale (from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”) with approximately half of the items reverse-scored (Ahmadzadeh et al. 2013; Duncan et al. 2009)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Real estimates of mortality following COVID-19 infection.

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David Baud¹, Xiaolong Qi², Karin Nielsen-Saines³, Didier Musso⁴, Léo Pomar¹, Guillaume Favre¹ - Show less +2 more•Institutions (4)

University of Lausanne¹, Lanzhou University², University of California, Los Angeles³, Institut de recherche pour le développement⁴

01 Jul 2020-Lancet Infectious Diseases

TL;DR: This poster presents a poster presented at the 2016 International Conference of the Association for the Advance Study of Childbirth and Materno-fetal and Obstetrics entitled “Advances in Maternity and Childbirth Education and Research: Foundations of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.”

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Abstract: Materno-fetal and Obstetrics Research Unit, Department Woman-Mother-Child, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland (DB, LP, GF); CHESS Center, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China (XQ); Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA (KN-S); Aix Marseille Université, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Marseille, Service de Santé des Armées, Vecteurs— Infections Tropicales et Méditerranéennes (VITROME), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire– Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France (DM); and Laboratoire Eurofins—Labazur Guyane, French Guiana, France (DM)

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1,020 citations

"The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Develop..." refers background in this paper

...As of March 1, 2020, the mortality rate was 3.6% in China and 1.5% outside China (Baud et al. 2020), and as of March 14, 2020, 135 countries/territories had confirmed cases (World Health Organization 2020)....
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