Psychometric properties of the Persian version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S)

Abstract

Background During various infectious pandemics, phobia or panic has been suggested as one of the most common mental disorders. The current study reports on the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the COVID‐19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S) in Iran. Methods The forward–backward translation procedure was applied to translate the English version of the C19P-S into Persian. Then, content and face validity, structural validity (exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses), convergent and discriminant validity, concurrent validity, reliability, and stability were performed to evaluate the Persian version. Results In all, 660 people participated in the study. The mean age of patients was 35.55 (SD = 12.24) years. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a four-factor structure for the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that almost all fitness indices for the model were satisfactory (RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.96, IFI = 0.97). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the questionnaire were 0.95 and 0.96, respectively. Conclusion The Persian version of C19P-S showed good psychometric properties and a good fit for the four-factor structure. It can now be used to assess panic disorder in therapeutic settings and identify candidates needing clinical intervention.

Development and psychometric testing of the Coronavirus Awareness and Preparedness Scale: A cross‐sectional study

“…The tool could also guide public health officials' insight into which levers could be more advantageous at various phases of a multiyear pandemic. Most scales developed for COVID‐19 primarily focus on psychometric properties related to COVID‐19, such as fear, stigma, stress, anxiety, and psychological distress, 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 or on coping strategies, such as vaccine hesitancy, quarantine coping, face mask use, and attitudes toward remote work. 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 Interestingly, to our knowledge, there are no scales that specifically address community awareness or preparedness, which may be due to the lack of community data collected during the early stages of COVID‐19.…”