Validation of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale in a US College Sample

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted college students’ coursework, stress levels, and perceived health. Various estimates indicate that high proportions of college students have experienced increased amounts of stress (Dziech, Inside Higher Education , 2020 ; Hartocollis, New York Times , 2020 ), yet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of mental health and addiction 2022-02, Vol.20 (1), p.273-283
Main Authors: Perz, Catherine A., Lang, Brent A., Harrington, Rick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
College students
Community and Environmental Psychology
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Health Psychology
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original
Original Article
Pandemics
Psychiatry
Psychology
Public Health
Rehabilitation
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Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted college students’ coursework, stress levels, and perceived health. Various estimates indicate that high proportions of college students have experienced increased amounts of stress (Dziech, Inside Higher Education , 2020 ; Hartocollis, New York Times , 2020 ), yet other sources indicate that many college students respond to these changes with resilience (Kelley, Cornell Chronicle , 2020 ). A method for assessing student anxiety regarding the pandemic is thus needed. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) (Ahorsu et al., International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction , 2020 ) is a seven-item scale which has been validated and shown to possess good psychometric qualities in studies of participants from multiple countries. The current study used a cross-sectional convenience sample of US college student participants ( n  = 237) and found that the FCV-19S has high reliability and validity as demonstrated by its internal consistency and strong one-factor solution. Scores on the FCV-19S were positively correlated with anxiety for students who were married or of Asian descent. Additionally, the FCV-19S was only moderately correlated with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale (GAD-7), suggesting that the FCV-19S may bring added utility to research and clinical practice with populations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
ISSN:1557-1874
1557-1882
DOI:10.1007/s11469-020-00356-3