Background
The emergence of the COVID-19 and its consequences has led to fears, worries, and anxiety among individuals worldwide. The present study developed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) to ...complement the clinical efforts in preventing the spread and treating of COVID-19 cases.
Methods
The sample comprised 717 Iranian participants. The items of the FCV-19S were constructed based on extensive review of existing scales on fears, expert evaluations, and participant interviews. Several psychometric tests were conducted to ascertain its reliability and validity properties.
Results
After panel review and corrected item-total correlation testing, seven items with acceptable corrected item-total correlation (0.47 to 0.56) were retained and further confirmed by significant and strong factor loadings (0.66 to 0.74). Also, other properties evaluated using both classical test theory and Rasch model were satisfactory on the seven-item scale. More specifically, reliability values such as internal consistency (
α
= .82) and test–retest reliability (ICC = .72) were acceptable. Concurrent validity was supported by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (with depression,
r
= 0.425 and anxiety,
r
= 0.511) and the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Scale (with perceived infectability,
r
= 0.483 and germ aversion, r = 0.459).
Conclusion
The Fear of COVID-19 Scale, a seven-item scale, has robust psychometric properties. It is reliable and valid in assessing fear of COVID-19 among the general population and will also be useful in allaying COVID-19 fears among individuals.
Objectives:
This study examined the mediation role of fear of COVID-19 in the association between perceived health status of older adults and their insomnia, mental health, and COVID-19 preventive ...behaviors so as to have better understanding of the factors associated with COVID-19 and its preventive measures.
Methods:
A total of 413 older adults with a mean age of 57.72 (SD = 7.31) were recruited for this study. They responded to the measures on fear of COVID-19, insomnia, mental health, and COVID-19 preventive behaviors.
Results:
There were small-large significant interrelationships between insomnia, mental health, fear of COVID-19, and preventive behaviors. Fear of COVID-19 significantly mediated the associations between perceived health status and insomnia, mental health, and COVID-19 preventive behaviors. It was also observed that perceived health status directly influenced insomnia and mental health of older adults but not their COVID-19 preventive behaviors.
Conclusion:
Fear of COVID-19 has an important role to play in the management of the health and preventive behaviors of older adults. Health experts and communicators may capitalize on these findings to educate people on COVID-19. Future studies are needed to perfectly ascertain the extent of fear needed to stimulate or initiate better preventive behaviors and healthcare practices.
•Depression, anxiety, and stress mediates the association between internet gaming disorder and insomnia.•Depression, anxiety, and stress mediates the association between internet gaming disorder and ...quality of life.•Internet gaming disorder may have multiple pathways in affecting adolescents’ sleep and quality of life.
For many individuals, the COVID-19 outbreak has increased their psychological distress, changed their behaviors, and impacted their health. With more time spent indoors, many individuals have engaged in increased videogame playing. However, the associations between such behaviors during the COVID-19 outbreak period is unclear.
The present study examined the mediating role of psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress) in the association between internet gaming disorder (IGD) and two health outcomes (insomnia quality of life) among adolescents during this COVID-19 pandemic.
A cross-sectional study comprising adolescents (N = 1512) aged 13–18 years (mean age = 15.51 years) was utilized to assess measures on insomnia, depression, anxiety, and stress, IGD, and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were small to large significant relationships between the variables. Psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) served as a strong mediator in the association between IGD and insomnia and quality of life. IGD directly influenced insomnia and quality of life among the participants.
IGD is associated with different psychosocial outcomes comprising multiple pathways. Parents need to pay special attention to how much time and how frequently their children play videogames. Parents may need to assist their children in coping with psychological distress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic period.
The novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has seriously affected the lives of millions of people across the world. It has also heavily burdened healthcare professionals and the virus poses ...serious risks for their personal and professional lives. Therefore, the present study examined the associations between fear of COVID-19 and workplace phobia among doctors in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An online survey was conducted among 421 doctors in Pakistan between April 10 and May 25, 2020. The Workplace Phobia Scale (WPS) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) were the main psychometric instruments used in this study.
There was a significant positive relationship between fear of COVID-19 and workplace panic anxiety and workplace avoidance behavior. Significantly higher fear of COVID-19 was found among (i) females compared to males, (ii) doctors with 5 years or less of work experience compared to those with more than 5 years, and (iii) postgraduate trainees compared with other ranks. Two groups (doctors who were above 30 years old and postgraduate trainees) were found to have higher levels of workplace phobia compared to their counterparts. Doctors with severe levels of fear of COVID-19 had significantly higher levels of workplace panic anxiety and workplace avoidance behavior.
Fear of COVID-19 was significantly associated with workplace phobia which may negatively affect doctors' performance. Therefore, important steps are needed to protect doctors' health by providing sufficient resources to allay their fears and anxieties which consequently help them in carrying out their frontline duties in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are inadequate screening instruments for assessing specific internet-related addictions among mainland Chinese primary school students. Therefore, the present study validated the psychometric ...properties of three simplified Chinese online-related addictive behavior instruments among mainland Chinese primary school students.
Fourth to sixth graders (n = 1108; 48.3% males; mean SD age = 10.37 years 0.95) completed the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scales-Short Form (IGDS-SF9), Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS) in a classroom. The factorial structures and the unidimensionality of the three scales were examined using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs). Measurement invariance of the three scales was examined using multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (MGCFAs) across gender.
The findings demonstrated that the three scales (Cronbach's
= 0.73 to 0.84) had unidimensional structure as supported by satisfactory fit indices (comparative fit index = 0.98 to 1.00). The MGCFA findings indicated that the unidimensional structures of the three scales were invariant across gender.
The findings indicate that the three simplified Chinese scales (IGDS-SF9, BSMAS, and SABAS) are valid instruments for assessing online-related addictive behaviors among mainland Chinese primary school students irrespective of their gender.
The adverse effect of COVID-19 pandemic among individuals has been very disturbing especially among healthcare workers. This study aims to examine the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder ...(PTSD) symptoms, sleep problems, and psychological distress among COVID-19 frontline healthcare workers in Taiwan. Hence, a total of 500 frontline healthcare workers were recruited to participate in this cross-sectional study. They responded to measures on fear of COVID-19, depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, PTSD, perceived stigma, and self-stigma. The results indicated a prevalence rate of 15.4% for PTSD symptoms, 44.6% for insomnia, 25.6% for depressive symptoms, 30.6% for anxiety symptoms, and 23.4% for stress among the participants. There were significantly positive interrelationships between all these variables. Anxiety symptoms and fear of COVID-19 predicted PTSD whereas symptoms of anxiety, fear of COVID-19, and stress predicted insomnia. The prevalence rates of the psychological problems reveal a worrying view of mental health challenges among Taiwanese frontline healthcare workers. Anxiety symptoms and fear of COVID-19 are the common predictive factors of PTSD and sleep problems suggesting that mental healthcare services for them may help prevent future occurrence of psychological problems by allaying fears of healthcare workers. Therefore, there should be mental healthcare services for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aims of the present study were to examine the prediction of the threat and coping appraisal utilizing an extended protection motivation theory (PMT) for the motivation to have COVID-19 ...vaccination and the influence of various information sources on coping appraisal among university students in China.
The sample comprised 3145 students from 43 universities in China who completed an online survey including PMT constructs as well as constructs added to PMT. The PMT constructs comprised motivation to have COVID-19 vaccination, threat appraisal, and coping appraisal. The extended PMT constructs comprised knowledge about mechanisms and information sources of COVID-19 vaccination.
Perceived severity of COVID-19 was positively associated with motivation to have COVID-19 vaccination. Receiving information concerning COVID-19 vaccination from medical personnel was associated with greater self-efficacy, response efficacy, and knowledge, whereas receiving information concerning COVID-19 vaccination from coworkers/colleagues was associated with less response efficacy and knowledge. Receiving online information concerning COVID-19 vaccination was associated with greater response cost of vaccination efficacy and less knowledge.
This study supported the prediction of perceived severity in the PMT for motivation to have COVID-19 vaccination among university students in China. Vaccination information sources have different effects on students' coping appraisal of COVID-19 vaccination.
For some individuals, there appears to be some level of unwillingness in getting a COVID-19 vaccine which may be due to trust issues. The present study used a mediation model to investigate how trust ...is associated with an individual's willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination among Iranians. A total of 10,843 Iranian adults were recruited in Qazvin province using a multistage stratified cluster sampling method. The survey was completed between February 19 and April 9, 2021. The findings showed that generalized trust was positively associated with trust in the healthcare system, trust in the healthcare system was positively associated with willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination, and generalized trust was positively associated with willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination. Also, trust in the healthcare system mediated the association between generalized trust and willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination. There were some significant demographic differences in COVID-19 vaccination willingness. The findings suggest that generalized trust plays a significant role in directly or indirectly influencing individuals' willingness to get COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, government bodies and health officials may utilize these findings to appeal in a more transparent and professional manner in encouraging individuals to get a COVID-19 vaccine. However, for those with lower trust levels (in general and in the healthcare system), the focus may be to re-build and/or regain the individuals' trust through carefully planned transparent communication, information dissemination, and ethical education to help increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination.
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted lives worldwide and has led to global vaccination against COVID-19. However, there are concerns about the adverse effects of such vaccines on ...individuals' health. Therefore, it is important to investigate the association between vaccination and holistic health outcome (i.e., quality of life QoL). The present study analyzed data from the Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS), a survey conducted utilizing stratified random sampling. More specifically, data (N = 1425; 47.44% males; mean age = 50.58 y) on their vaccinations (including COVID-19 and flu vaccines) and QoL (using the Short-Form 12) were used. Participants were separated into two age subgroups for analyses (those aged below 50 y, and those 50 y or above). For participants aged below 50 y, those who received COVID-19 vaccine and those who received both COVID-19 and flu vaccines had significantly better physical QoL than those who did not receive any vaccination. Mental QoL was not significantly associated with vaccinations for participants aged below 50 y. Moreover, neither mental nor physical QoL was significantly associated with vaccinations for those aged 50 y or above. The present study showed that not having COVID-19 and flu vaccinations is associated with poor QoL. This finding should be disseminated to the public to help aid vaccination promotion.
Background and aims. The present longitudinal study examined the changes in problematic internet use (problematic smartphone use, problematic social media use, and problematic gaming) and changes in ...COVID-19-related psychological distress (fear of COVID-19 and worry concerning COVID-19) across three time-points (before the COVID-19 outbreak, during the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, and during the COVID-19 outbreak recovery period). Methods. A total of 504 Chinese schoolchildren completed measures concerning problematic internet use and psychological distress across three time-points. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to classify participants into three groups of problematic internet use comprising Group 1 (lowest level), Group 2 (moderate level), and Group 3 (highest level). Results. Statistical analyses showed that as problematic use of internet-related activities declined among Group 3 participants across the three time points, participants in Group 1 and Group 2 had increased problematic use of internet-related activities. Although there was no between-group difference in relation to worrying concerning COVID-19 infection, Groups 2 and 3 had significantly higher levels of fear of COVID-19 than Group 1 during the COVID-19 recovery period. Regression analysis showed that change in problematic internet use predicted fear of COVID-19 during the recovery period. Conclusion. The varied levels of problematic internet use among schoolchildren reflect different changing trends of additive behaviors during COVID-19 outbreak and recovery periods.
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