Adapting the COVID Stress Scale (CSS) to investigate the level of stress among Hong Kong Chinese people 1 year after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

BackgroundStress is a crucial driver that affects hygiene behavior. The Hong Kong population lacks a COVID-19 or pandemic related stress measure investigating the COVID-19 related stress after one year of outbreak. Design and methodsThe original COVID Stress Scale (CSS) was translated and culturally adapted into the Chinese (Cantonese) version (CSS-C). Six hundred and twenty-four participants were recruited from the general public to examine the internal consistency, and concurrent and convergent validity of the CSS-C. The test-retest reliability of CSS-C was examined using 39 university students. ResultsPeople with old age, women, single, low educational level and borderline and abnormal levels of anxiety and depression were likely to perceive high level of COVID-19 related stress. All CSS-C subscales demonstrated good internal consistency, moderate to good test-retest reliability, and weak to moderate correlations with various mental health-related measures. DiscussionThe CSS could help monitor the stress associated the current and potential future pandemics.