COVID-19 related distress in the Swedish population: Validation of the Swedish version of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS).

Anders Carlander,Mats Lekander,Gordon J G Asmundson,Steven Taylor,Sanjay Kumar Singh Patel,Ann-Sophie Lindqvist Bagge,Roger Olofsson Bagge

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0263888

Abstract

BackgroundThe COVID Stress Scales (CSS) assess health- and contamination-related distress in the face of a medical outbreak like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Though the CSS is translated into 21 languages, it has not been validated in a Swedish national sample.AimOur general objective is to provide a translation, replication, and validation of the CSS and test its convergent- and discriminant validity in relation to anxiety, health anxiety, depression, and stress in the general Swedish population. We also present latent psychometric properties by modelling based on item response theory.MethodsParticipants consisted of 3044 Swedish adults (> 18 years) from a pre-stratified (gender, age, and education) sample from The Swedish Citizen Panel. Mental health status was assessed by validated instruments, including the CSS, PHQ-4, SHAI-14, and PSS-10.ResultsResults indicate that our Swedish translation of CSS has good psychometric properties and consists of 5 correlated factors.DiscussionThe CSS is useful either as a unidimensional or multidimensional construct using the CSS scales to measure key facets of pandemic-related stress.ConclusionsThe findings support the cross-cultural validity of the CSS and its potential utility in understanding many of the emotional challenges posed by the current and future pandemics.

Highlights

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a major toll on our lives
The findings support the cross-cultural validity of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) and its potential utility in understanding many of the emotional challenges posed by the current and future pandemics
We reported a multiple ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis showing the CSS regressed on sex, age, education, and income to determine how demographics and socioeconomic status may be related to CSS scores

Summary

Aim

Our general objective is to provide a translation, replication, and validation of the CSS and test its convergent- and discriminant validity in relation to anxiety, health anxiety, depression, and stress in the general Swedish population. We present latent psychometric properties by modelling based on item response theory

Methods

Results

Introduction

Method Participants

Ethical approval

Conclusion