Development of the COVID-19-Anxiety Questionnaire and first psychometric testing

Moritz Bruno Petzold; Antonia Bendau; Jens Plag; Lena Pyrkosch; Lea Mascarell Maricic; Janina Rogoll; Felix Betzler; Julia Große; Andreas Ströhle

doi:10.1192/bjo.2020.82

BJPsych Open (Sep 2020)

Development of the COVID-19-Anxiety Questionnaire and first psychometric testing

Moritz Bruno Petzold,
Antonia Bendau,
Jens Plag,
Lena Pyrkosch,
Lea Mascarell Maricic,
Janina Rogoll,
Felix Betzler,
Julia Große,
Andreas Ströhle

Affiliations

Moritz Bruno Petzold: ORCiD; Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Antonia Bendau: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Jens Plag: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Lena Pyrkosch: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Lea Mascarell Maricic: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Janina Rogoll: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Felix Betzler: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Julia Große: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Andreas Ströhle: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2020.82
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 6

Abstract

Read online

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may cause psychological distress in the general population and has the potential to cause anxiety regarding COVID-19. No validated questionnaires exist for the measurement of specific COVID-19 anxiety. We modified the DSM 5 – Severity Measure for Specific Phobia–Adult scale specifically for anxiety regarding COVID-19, and report the psychometric properties from an online study with 6262 participants from the general population in Germany. We analysed internal consistency as well as concordant validity. The scale showed good internal consistency (α = 0.86) and good concordant validity (rs = 0.60) with the 2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder measure and rs = 0.61 with self-rating of limitations in daily life caused by COVID-19 anxiety.

Published in BJPsych Open

ISSN: 2056-4724 (Online)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system: Psychiatry
Website: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords