The Arabic version of the fear of covid-19 scale: psychometric properties and relationship to future anxiety in Jordanians

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused various psychological problems worldwide, such as fear, anxiety, and depression. Since the fear of the pandemic can adversely affect disease management, it must be measured appropriately. This study aims to verify the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of FCV-19S and its relation to future anxiety in Jordanians. This cross-sectional study was conducted from September 8 to 28, 2020 on a sample of 760 Jordanian participants. According to the results, the seven items of the scale were loaded on one component, and they explained 66.3% of the total variance. Both the classical test theory and the item response theory (Rasch model) were used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the fear of COVID-19 scale items. The internal consistency (α) was0.91. The concurrent validity was supported by the future anxiety scale (r = 0.87).The Rasch model offered good psychometric properties for the Jordanian version of the FCV-19S. The measurement invariance showed no differences concerning gender or age. The Jordanian FCV-19S was thus found to be an effective screening scale for assessing the fear of COVID-19 among the adult Jordanian population.

Keywords

• Coronavirus
• Fear of COVID-19
• COVID-19
• Future Anxiety
• Jordan