Cross-cultural validation of the new version of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale in twelve Latin American countries

Abstract

The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) was recently developed to assess dysfunctional anxiety related to COVID-19. Although different studies reported that the CAS is psychometrically sound, it is unclear whether it is invariant across countries. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the measurement invariance of the CAS in twelve Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay). A total of 5196 people participated, with a mean age of 34.06 (SD = 26.54). Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the measurement invariance of the CAS across countries and gender. Additionally, the graded response model (GRM) was used to provide a global representation of the representativeness of the scale with respect to the COVID-19 dysfunctional anxiety construct. The unidimensional structure of the five-item CAS was not confirmed in all countries. Therefore, it was suggested that a four-item model of the CAS (CAS-4) provides a better fit across the twelve countries and reliable scores. Multigroup CFA showed that the CAS-4 exhibits scalar invariance across all twelve countries and all genders. In addition, the CAS-4 items are more informative at average and high levels of COVID-19 dysfunctional anxiety than at lower levels. According to the results, the CAS-4 is an instrument with strong cross-cultural validity and is suitable for cross-cultural comparisons of COVID-19 dysfunctional anxiety symptoms in the general population of the twelve Latin American countries evaluated. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02563-0.

Spanish Translation and Validation of the COVID Stress Scales in Peru

“…This is an expected finding in instruments that measure psychological distress ( Caycho-Rodríguez et al, 2021a ). Similarly, item 11 [“I am worried about grocery stores running out of water.” (“Me preocupa que en los almacenes de abarrotes y/o supermercados se acabe el agua.”)] has the best capacity for discrimination.…”

COVID-19 anxiety, psychological well-being and preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean: relationships and explanatory model

“…The CAS is a unidimensional measure originally comprised of 5 items with 5 Likert-type response options ranging from 0 = never to 4 = every day during the past two weeks. The CAS has been previously translated into Spanish (Caycho-Rodríguez et al, 2020;Caycho-Rodríguez, Carbajal-León, et al, 2021); however, a 4-item Spanish version of the CAS was used in the present study which has been shown to be unidimensional, reliable, and invariant in 12 Latin American countries (Caycho-Rodríguez et al, 2022). High CAS scores express a high frequency of anxiety symptoms related to COVID-19.…”

Assessing anxiety during the COVID-19 delta epidemic: Validation of the Chinese coronavirus anxiety scale

“…The other studies suggested a four-item model that excluded item 4 or item 5. The four-item model was proved in all 12 Latin American countries after excluding item 5 ( Caycho-Rodríguez et al, 2022 ). Both two models showed good model fit.…”