Mental health clinicians worldwide have been expressing concerns regarding the broad psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, only a few studies have thus far evaluated the degree of fear of COVID-19, partially due to the lack of validated measures. In this study we evaluated the psychometric properties of the Hebrew version of the Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), recently developed to assess different aspects of the fear of the pandemic, in a normative population of participants in Israel. Participants (n = 639) were asked to complete the FCV-19S scale, as well as to report anxiety, depression, and stress levels using validated scales. The results a unidimensional factor structure of the FCV-19S which explained 53.71% of the variance. When forcing a two-factor structure model, the analysis revealed two factors pertaining to emotional fear reactions and symptomatic expressions of fear. Gender, sociodemographic status, chronic illness, being in an at-risk group, and having a family member dying of COVID-19 were positively associated with fear of COVID-19. The measure was associated with anxiety, stress and depression. These results suggest that the FCV-19S has good psychometric properties, and can be utilized in studies assessing the effects of the pandemic on the population's mental health.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has not only a physical health impact but also a psychological toll, which is associated with the social isolation and emotional contagion of fear and anxiety. One of the main factors which influence the increased levels of stress is the fear of COVID-19, and specifically the fear of being infected, and of transmitting the virus to one’s family and friends. In this study, a new measure named “The Fear of COVID-19 Familial Infection Scale” (FCFI) is suggested, and its psychometric properties are tested. Methods: A sample of 582 participants filled an online survey; of those, 393 (67.5%) were healthcare workers. Of the healthcare workers, 218 (37.5%) were medical doctors, 46 (7.9%) were nurses, and 117 (20.1%) were other healthcare professionals. Participants filled out a demographic questionnaire, The FCFI, the Fear of the COVID-19 scale, and the Depression and Anxiety Scale (DASS-21). Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the FCFI has two factors: Fear of infecting others, and Perception of Others’ fear of being infected by me. This bidimensional model accounts for 69.5% of the variance in the FCFI. The two subscales had good reliability and high convergence validity as indicated by its correlations with being exposed to COVID-19, fear of COVID-19 and the DASS-21 subscales. Conclusion: The FCFI has initial good psychometric properties and could be a useful tool to assess levels of fear of COVID-19 familial infection.

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The Fear of COVID-19 Familial Infection (FCFI) scale examines parents' fear levels of infecting their families with COVID-19. Pprinciple component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of parents (N = 582) revealed two factors: Fear of infecting others and Others' Fear of being infected by me.