COVID-19- HAB scale: Validation of a scale of perception of habits shifting during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has made the daily life difficult for thousands of people around the world. The measurements taken by many governments have reduced personal liberties and obligated many to change their habits and lifestyles. Objective: To validate a scale that measures the perception of habits shifting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was an instrumental, analytical, and cross-sectional study with a pilot sample of 417 respondents. A form validation was carried out with the participation of 10 experts who evaluated the scale. Their assessments were used to calculate Aiken coefficient. The explorative factor analysis was carried out using KMO and Bartlett test. Finally, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to get internal consistency. Results: The KMO measure was 0.92 and the Bartlett test was significative. With these results, factor determination was performed resulting in a 1-factor model which contains 71.45% of the total variance and with factorial charges between 0.46-0.88. Then, Cronbach’s coefficient was 0.89, assuring good reliability to the scale. Conclusion: The COVID-19-HAB scale is a validated scale and it could be applied to measure the habits acquired by the general population during health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Key words: Validation study; Habits; Pandemics; COVID-19.