Psychometric Properties of the Norwegian Version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale.

Iversen MM, Norekvål TM, Oterhals K, Fadnes LT, Mæland S, Pakpour AH, Breivik K

Int J Ment Health Addict - (-) 1-19 [2021-01-20; online 2021-01-20]

To examine the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), randomly selected individuals from a larger registry study were invited. We assessed the reliability and validity of the instrument in a sample of 1089 adults in Norway (response rate 73%). Internal consistency measured by Cronbach's alpha (0.88) was acceptable. Omega alphaHierarchical ( ωt = 0.69) was lower indicating that the general factor is less reliable, explaining 69% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the FCV-19S is not strictly unidimensional. Exploratory graph analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor model (cognitive and somatic fear), which were highly correlated (r = 0.84). The Norwegian version of the FCV-19S showed an underlying two-factor structure. However, the high correlation means the two latent factors (cognitive and somatic fear) act as indicators for a second-order general factor and support use of the FCV-19S sum score. The FCV-19S appears to be a valid instrument to assess fear of COVID-19 with good psychometric properties. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11469-020-00454-2.

Category: Public Health

Type: Journal article

PubMed 33495690

DOI 10.1007/s11469-020-00454-2

Crossref 10.1007/s11469-020-00454-2

pii: 454
pmc: PMC7816751


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