The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Its Structure and Measurement Invariance Across 48 Countries

Artur J. Sawicki; Magdalena Żemojtel-Piotrowska; Julia M. Balcerowska; Monika J. Sawicka; Jarosław Piotrowski; Constantine Sedikides; Peter K. Jonason; John Maltby; Mladen Adamovic; Attisso Mathieu Désiré Agada; Oli Ahmed; Laith Al-Shawaf; Seth Christopher Yaw Appiah; Rahkman Ardi; Zana Hasan Babakr; Sergiu Bălţătescu; Mario Bonato; Richard G. Cowden; Phatthanakit Chobthamkit; Laura De Pretto; Valdiney V. Gouveia; Carmen Haretche; Dzintra Iliško; John Jamir Benzon Aruta; Fanli Jia; Veljko Jovanovic; Tomislav Jukic; Shanmukh V. Kamble; Narine Khachatryan; Martina Klicperova-Baker; Metodi Koralov; Monika Kovacs; Mabelle Kretchner; Aitor Larzabal Fernandez; Kadi Liik; Najma Iqbal Malik; Karine Malysheva; Chanki Moon; Stephan Muehlbacher; Sofya Nartova-Bochaver; Jorge Torres-Marín; Emrah Özsoy; Joonha Park; Elena Piccinelli; Jano Ramos-Diaz; OgnjenRiđic; Adil Samekin; Andrej Starc; Trà T.T. Kiêu; Robert Tomsik; Charles S. Umeh; EduardoWills-Herrera; Anna Wlodarczyk; Zahir Vally; Somayeh Zand

doi:10.1037/pas0001102

The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Its Structure and Measurement Invariance Across 48 Countries

Artur J. Sawicki^*
, Magdalena Żemojtel-Piotrowska
, Julia M. Balcerowska
, Monika J. Sawicka
, Jarosław Piotrowski
, Constantine Sedikides
, Peter K. Jonason
, John Maltby
, Mladen Adamovic
, Attisso Mathieu Désiré Agada
, Oli Ahmed
, Laith Al-Shawaf
, Seth Christopher Yaw Appiah
, Rahkman Ardi
, Zana Hasan Babakr
, Sergiu Bălţătescu
, Mario Bonato
, Richard G. Cowden
, Phatthanakit Chobthamkit
, Laura De Pretto

Valdiney V. Gouveia, Carmen Haretche, Dzintra Iliško, John Jamir Benzon Aruta, Fanli Jia, Veljko Jovanovic, Tomislav Jukic, Shanmukh V. Kamble, Narine Khachatryan, Martina Klicperova-Baker, Metodi Koralov, Monika Kovacs, Mabelle Kretchner, Aitor Larzabal Fernandez, Kadi Liik, Najma Iqbal Malik, Karine Malysheva, Chanki Moon, Stephan Muehlbacher, Sofya Nartova-Bochaver, Jorge Torres-Marín, Emrah Özsoy, Joonha Park, Elena Piccinelli, Jano Ramos-Diaz, OgnjenRiđic, Adil Samekin, Andrej Starc, Trà T.T. Kiêu, Robert Tomsik, Charles S. Umeh, EduardoWills-Herrera, Anna Wlodarczyk, Zahir Vally, Somayeh Zand

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Psychology

University of Gdańsk
Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University
University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn
University of Southampton
University of Padua
University of Leicester
The University of Auckland
Clinique Biasa
University of Chittagong
University of Colorado
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Universitas Airlangga
Soran University
University of Oradea
Harvard University
Thammasat University
Leeds Trinity University
Universidade Federal da Paraíba
Universidad de la República
Daugavpils University
De La Salle University-Manila
Seton Hall University
University of Novi Sad
Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek
Karnatak University
Yerevan State University
Czech Academy of Sciences
New Bulgarian University
Eötvös Loránd University
Reichman University
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
Tallinn University
University of Sargodha
Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University
Leeds Beckett University
Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences
Higher School of Economics
University of Granada
Sakarya University
Nagoya University of Commerce and Business
University Institute of Lisbon
Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades
International University of Sarajevo
KAZGUU University
University of Ljubljana
Ho Chi Minh City University of Education
Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology
University of Lagos
Universidad de los Andes Colombia
Universidad Católica del Norte
United Arab Emirates University
University of Milan - Bicocca

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

45 Scopus citations

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been a source of fear around the world. We asked whether the measurement of this fear is trustworthy and comparable across countries. In particular, we explored the measurement invariance and cross-cultural replicability of the widely used Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), testing community samples from 48 countries (N = 14,558). The findings indicate that the FCV-19S has a somewhat problematic structure, yet the one-factor solution is replicable across cultural contexts and could be used in studies that compare people who vary on gender and educational level. The validity of the scale is supported by a consistent pattern of positive correlations with perceived stress and general anxiety. However, given the unclear structure of the FCV-19S, we recommend using latent factor scores, instead of raw scores, especially in cross-cultural comparisons.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	294-310
Number of pages	17
Journal	Psychological Assessment
Volume	34
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001102
State	Published - 2022.01.1

Keywords

Coronavirus
Cross-cultural studies
Fear of covid
Measurement invariance

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10.1037/pas0001102

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Sawicki, A. J., Żemojtel-Piotrowska, M., Balcerowska, J. M., Sawicka, M. J., Piotrowski, J., Sedikides, C., Jonason, P. K., Maltby, J., Adamovic, M., Agada, A. M. D., Ahmed, O., Al-Shawaf, L., Appiah, S. C. Y., Ardi, R., Babakr, Z. H., Bălţătescu, S., Bonato, M., Cowden, R. G., Chobthamkit, P., ... Zand, S. (2022). The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Its Structure and Measurement Invariance Across 48 Countries. Psychological Assessment, 34(3), 294-310. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001102

@article{9534ee38a27f4824a6665217dc96f0e0,

title = "The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Its Structure and Measurement Invariance Across 48 Countries",

abstract = "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been a source of fear around the world. We asked whether the measurement of this fear is trustworthy and comparable across countries. In particular, we explored the measurement invariance and cross-cultural replicability of the widely used Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), testing community samples from 48 countries (N = 14,558). The findings indicate that the FCV-19S has a somewhat problematic structure, yet the one-factor solution is replicable across cultural contexts and could be used in studies that compare people who vary on gender and educational level. The validity of the scale is supported by a consistent pattern of positive correlations with perceived stress and general anxiety. However, given the unclear structure of the FCV-19S, we recommend using latent factor scores, instead of raw scores, especially in cross-cultural comparisons.",

keywords = "Coronavirus, Cross-cultural studies, Fear of covid, Measurement invariance",

author = "Sawicki, \{Artur J.\} and Magdalena {\.Z}emojtel-Piotrowska and Balcerowska, \{Julia M.\} and Sawicka, \{Monika J.\} and Jaros{\l}aw Piotrowski and Constantine Sedikides and Jonason, \{Peter K.\} and John Maltby and Mladen Adamovic and Agada, \{Attisso Mathieu D{\'e}sir{\'e}\} and Oli Ahmed and Laith Al-Shawaf and Appiah, \{Seth Christopher Yaw\} and Rahkman Ardi and Babakr, \{Zana Hasan\} and Sergiu B{\u a}l{\c t}{\u a}tescu and Mario Bonato and Cowden, \{Richard G.\} and Phatthanakit Chobthamkit and \{De Pretto\}, Laura and Gouveia, \{Valdiney V.\} and Carmen Haretche and Dzintra Ili{\v s}ko and Aruta, \{John Jamir Benzon\} and Fanli Jia and Veljko Jovanovic and Tomislav Jukic and Kamble, \{Shanmukh V.\} and Narine Khachatryan and Martina Klicperova-Baker and Metodi Koralov and Monika Kovacs and Mabelle Kretchner and \{Larzabal Fernandez\}, Aitor and Kadi Liik and Malik, \{Najma Iqbal\} and Karine Malysheva and Chanki Moon and Stephan Muehlbacher and Sofya Nartova-Bochaver and Jorge Torres-Mar{\'i}n and Emrah {\"O}zsoy and Joonha Park and Elena Piccinelli and Jano Ramos-Diaz and OgnjenRi{\d}ic and Adil Samekin and Andrej Starc and Ki{\^e}u, \{Tr{\`a} T.T.\} and Robert Tomsik and Umeh, \{Charles S.\} and EduardoWills-Herrera and Anna Wlodarczyk and Zahir Vally and Somayeh Zand",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 American Psychological Association",

year = "2022",

month = jan,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1037/pas0001102",

language = "English",

volume = "34",

pages = "294--310",

journal = "Psychological Assessment",

issn = "1040-3590",

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Sawicki, AJ, Żemojtel-Piotrowska, M, Balcerowska, JM, Sawicka, MJ, Piotrowski, J, Sedikides, C, Jonason, PK, Maltby, J, Adamovic, M, Agada, AMD, Ahmed, O, Al-Shawaf, L, Appiah, SCY, Ardi, R, Babakr, ZH, Bălţătescu, S, Bonato, M, Cowden, RG, Chobthamkit, P, De Pretto, L, Gouveia, VV, Haretche, C, Iliško, D, Aruta, JJB, Jia, F, Jovanovic, V, Jukic, T, Kamble, SV, Khachatryan, N, Klicperova-Baker, M, Koralov, M, Kovacs, M, Kretchner, M, Larzabal Fernandez, A, Liik, K, Malik, NI, Malysheva, K, Moon, C, Muehlbacher, S, Nartova-Bochaver, S, Torres-Marín, J, Özsoy, E, Park, J, Piccinelli, E, Ramos-Diaz, J, OgnjenRiđic, Samekin, A, Starc, A, Kiêu, TTT, Tomsik, R, Umeh, CS, EduardoWills-Herrera, Wlodarczyk, A, Vally, Z & Zand, S 2022, 'The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Its Structure and Measurement Invariance Across 48 Countries', Psychological Assessment, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 294-310. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001102

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Fear of COVID-19 Scale

T2 - Its Structure and Measurement Invariance Across 48 Countries

AU - Sawicki, Artur J.

AU - Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Magdalena

AU - Balcerowska, Julia M.

AU - Sawicka, Monika J.

AU - Piotrowski, Jarosław

AU - Sedikides, Constantine

AU - Jonason, Peter K.

AU - Maltby, John

AU - Adamovic, Mladen

AU - Agada, Attisso Mathieu Désiré

AU - Ahmed, Oli

AU - Al-Shawaf, Laith

AU - Appiah, Seth Christopher Yaw

AU - Ardi, Rahkman

AU - Babakr, Zana Hasan

AU - Bălţătescu, Sergiu

AU - Bonato, Mario

AU - Cowden, Richard G.

AU - Chobthamkit, Phatthanakit

AU - De Pretto, Laura

AU - Gouveia, Valdiney V.

AU - Haretche, Carmen

AU - Iliško, Dzintra

AU - Aruta, John Jamir Benzon

AU - Jia, Fanli

AU - Jovanovic, Veljko

AU - Jukic, Tomislav

AU - Kamble, Shanmukh V.

AU - Khachatryan, Narine

AU - Klicperova-Baker, Martina

AU - Koralov, Metodi

AU - Kovacs, Monika

AU - Kretchner, Mabelle

AU - Larzabal Fernandez, Aitor

AU - Liik, Kadi

AU - Malik, Najma Iqbal

AU - Malysheva, Karine

AU - Moon, Chanki

AU - Muehlbacher, Stephan

AU - Nartova-Bochaver, Sofya

AU - Torres-Marín, Jorge

AU - Özsoy, Emrah

AU - Park, Joonha

AU - Piccinelli, Elena

AU - Ramos-Diaz, Jano

AU - OgnjenRiđic,

AU - Samekin, Adil

AU - Starc, Andrej

AU - Kiêu, Trà T.T.

AU - Tomsik, Robert

AU - Umeh, Charles S.

AU - EduardoWills-Herrera,

AU - Wlodarczyk, Anna

AU - Vally, Zahir

AU - Zand, Somayeh

PY - 2022/1/1

Y1 - 2022/1/1

N2 - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been a source of fear around the world. We asked whether the measurement of this fear is trustworthy and comparable across countries. In particular, we explored the measurement invariance and cross-cultural replicability of the widely used Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), testing community samples from 48 countries (N = 14,558). The findings indicate that the FCV-19S has a somewhat problematic structure, yet the one-factor solution is replicable across cultural contexts and could be used in studies that compare people who vary on gender and educational level. The validity of the scale is supported by a consistent pattern of positive correlations with perceived stress and general anxiety. However, given the unclear structure of the FCV-19S, we recommend using latent factor scores, instead of raw scores, especially in cross-cultural comparisons.

AB - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been a source of fear around the world. We asked whether the measurement of this fear is trustworthy and comparable across countries. In particular, we explored the measurement invariance and cross-cultural replicability of the widely used Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), testing community samples from 48 countries (N = 14,558). The findings indicate that the FCV-19S has a somewhat problematic structure, yet the one-factor solution is replicable across cultural contexts and could be used in studies that compare people who vary on gender and educational level. The validity of the scale is supported by a consistent pattern of positive correlations with perceived stress and general anxiety. However, given the unclear structure of the FCV-19S, we recommend using latent factor scores, instead of raw scores, especially in cross-cultural comparisons.

KW - Coronavirus

KW - Cross-cultural studies

KW - Fear of covid

KW - Measurement invariance

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85125691484

U2 - 10.1037/pas0001102

DO - 10.1037/pas0001102

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35049326

AN - SCOPUS:85125691484

SN - 1040-3590

VL - 34

SP - 294

EP - 310

JO - Psychological Assessment

JF - Psychological Assessment

IS - 3

ER -

The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Its Structure and Measurement Invariance Across 48 Countries

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Keywords

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