The latent and item structure of COVID-19 fear: A comparison of four COVID-19 fear questionnaires using SEM and network analyses

• Published in: Journal of anxiety disorders 2021-06, Vol.81, p.102415-102415, Article 102415
• Main Authors: Mertens, Gaëtan, Duijndam, Stefanie, Smeets, Tom, Lodder, Paul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; Assessment; COVID-19; Fear; Health anxiety; Humans; Intolerance of uncertainty; SARS-CoV-2; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0887-6185; 1873-7897; 1873-7897
• DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102415

•We compared 4 fear of COVID-19 questionnaires in an online study (N = 829).•Four latent factors were identified using Structural Equation Modelling.•None of the questionnaires captured all latent factors.•Danger- and contamination-related fears were central in a network analysis.•Based on the results, we provide recommendations for measuring fear of COVID-19. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), several reports have shown that fear relating to COVID-19 has sharply increased. To measure fear of COVID-19, various questionnaires have been developed in parallel. However, fear concerning COVID-19 is not necessarily a uniform construct and the different questionnaires may cover diverse aspects. To examine the underlying structure of fear of COVID-19, we conducted structural equation modelling and network analyses on four scales in an online convenience sample (N = 829). Particularly, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (Ahorsu et al., 2020), the Fear of the Coronavirus Questionnaire (Mertens et al., 2020), and the COVID Stress Scales (Taylor, Landry, Paluszek, Fergus et al., 2020, Taylor, Landry, Paluszek, Rachor et al., 2020) were included in our study, along with a new scale that also assessed socio-economic worries relating to COVID-19. We found that fear of COVID-19 was best classified into four clusters: Fear of health-related consequences, fear of supplies shortages and xenophobia, fear about socio-economic consequences, and symptoms of fear (e.g., compulsions, nightmares). We also find that a central cluster of items centered on fear of health, which likely represents the core of fear of COVID-19. These results help to characterize fear due to COVID-19 and inform future research.