Psychometric Properties of the Arabic Version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) Among Jordanian Adults.

Abstract

There is an urgent need to assess the impacts of the Coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) outbreak on mental health among the general population such as the Fear of COVID-19. The current study aimed to provide further validation of the Arabic version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) for use among Jordanian adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an anonymous online survey between 1 and 12 May 2020. The forward-backward translation method was adopted to translate the FCV-19S into Arabic. The study sample included 725 Jordanian adults. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) was 0.91 indicating excellent internal consistency. As for convergent validity, a significant positive correlation was found between the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and the three subscales of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), with the highest correlation being between the FCV-19S and the anxiety subscale (r = 0.54, p < .05), followed by the stress subscale (r = 0.51, p < .05), and lastly, the depression subscale (r = 0.46, p < .05). Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and item response theory (IRT). The unidimensional factor structure of the FCV-19S was confirmed on the study sample. The Arabic version of the FCV-19S is a reliable and valid instrument with good psychometric properties. The use of this scale for assessing the severity of fear related to the COVID-19 pandemic among Arabic-speaking populations is recommended. The findings may guide future COVID-19-related research and further validation testing.