Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale for Chinese University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: fear of COVID-19 is widespread among the population, especially among college students because of their increased exposure to the media information overload of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19 S) is a relatively short instrument used to evaluate fears surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the validity and reliability of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale have not been fully investigated in Chinese university student groups. Objectives: this study assessed the cross-cultural adaptability and reliability of the FCV-19S for Chinese university students. Methods: a Chinese version of Fear of COVID-19 Scale (C-FCV-19S) was generated using the translation-backward translation method. Psychometric properties of the C-FCV-19S, including internal consistency, split-half reliability, construct reliability, convergent validity, and diagnostic accuracy, were evaluated. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7) scales were also used to evaluate participants for depression and anxiety. Results: the C-FCV-19S has acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.872) and satisfactory split-half reliability (correlation coefficient: 0.799). Using the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), we examined the construct reliability (KMO = 0.920). The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed that the bifactor model of scale (including general factor, factor1: the awareness of COVID-19 and physiological arousal, factor 2: fear-related thinking) had a good fit index (χ2/df =6.18, RMSEA= 0.067, SRMR = 0.028, GFI = 0.986, TLI = 0.970 and CFI= 0.988). Using depression-positive and anxiety-positive scores as reference criteria, we found that the areas under the curve were 0.70 and 0.68, respectively, and that the optimal cutoff scores of the C-FCV-19S was 17.5 (sensitivity: 66.3% and 58.7%, respectively). Conclusions: the validity and reliability of C-FCV-19S are satisfactory, and the optimal cutoff point was 17.5. The C-FCV-19S can be applied adopted in Chinese university students.

Psychological impact of COVID-19 and determinants among Spanish university students

“…According to our results, the level of fear of COVID-19 among Spanish university students was found to be lower than that reported in other studies conducted in the same context in Spain ( 25 , 70 , 71 ). In contrast, other countries have reported higher average scores of fear of COVID-19, including China ( 27 ), Pakistan ( 28 ), Russia and Belarus ( 29 ) and Turkey ( 26 ). Spain was one of the countries in the world most affected by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic ( 72–74 ).…”

“…In Spain, the level of fear of COVID-19 among university students ( 25 ) is higher than in other countries such as Turkey ( 26 ), China ( 27 ), Pakistan ( 28 ) or Russia and Belarus ( 29 ). Multiple studies worldwide performed in that population ( 30 , 31 ) have shown the impact that fear of COVID-19 has on several psychological constructs.…”

Prevalence and risk factors for anxiety and depression among community dwelling patients with cervical spondylosis during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Previously it was shown the optimal cutoff scores of the C-FCV-19S was 17.5 [ 30 ]. Based on this criterion, a 59.9% (95% CI: 55.8%–64.0%) prevalence of fear to COVID-19 was found among the current respondents.…”

Escala de Miedo al Covid-19 en Estudiantes Universitarios Chilenos: Propiedades psicométricas e invarianza de medida

“…Other authors confirm its unifactorial structure, eliminating items (Cassiani-Miranda et al, 2022;Mercado-Lara et al, 2022). Likewise, there is a series of recent publications that stipulate two factors as the structure of FCV-19S, such as Japan (Masuyama et al, 2022); China (Chi et al, 2022;Yang et al, 2022); Hungary (Balázs, Mitev, & Brodszky, 2022); Norway (Iversen et al, 2022) and in Latin America, Ecuador (Moreta-Herrera et al, 2022); Argentina (Caycho-Rodríguez et al, 2022;Furman, Griffiths, Pakpour, & Simkin, 2022) and Peru (Huarcaya-Victoria, 2020).…”