Abstract
Objective: The worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused significant public health burdens and psychological dysfunctions. In this challenging time, adolescents require special care. The Persian version of the Obsession with COVID-19 Scale (OCS) for adolescents was developed to screen for dysfunctional obsession associated with the coronavirus during the global pandemic. The structure and internal consistency of the OCS were established.Design and Measures: Although there are different language versions of the OCS, this is the first study to validate the psychometric properties of the OCS in Iranian adolescents. Seven hundred and nine students (369 girls) participated in the study. Demographic questions and the OCS were administered.Results: The findings provided support for the existence of a unidimensional structure that met the criteria for configural, metric, and full scalar invariance across gender (girls and boys), inhabitancy (urban and rural), and infection experience (infected and non-infected). The OCS is short and highly reliable measurement. However, further research is necessary to establish the validity of the scale in Iranian population.Conclusions: The development of such valid scales is an essential part of both research and practice during times of crisis, like a global pandemic. Diagnosis of pandemic related to obsessive thoughts in adolescents is needed as the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing and as experts point out, it can be expected that the effects of the pandemic will be observed in the coming years. The Persian version makes it possible to conduct international comparative research on the anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
Impacts of COVID-19 on Daily Life and Mental HealthSince December 2019, the coronavirus epidemic, known as COVID-19, originated from Wuhan, China, and spread rapidly worldwide [1]
To evaluate the model-to-data fit, we applied common fit indices and evaluation criteria that indicate good model fit: χ 2–non-significant, the root means the square error of approximation (RMSEA)—smaller than 0.08, the standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR)—smaller than 0.08, the comparative fit index (CFI)—above 0.95, and the Tucker-Lewis index (TLI)—above 0.95 [33, 34]
The unidimensional model that consists of four items obtained the required value of chi-square: χ(22) = 0.37, p = 0.831, N = 709, and the model-to-data fit indices were very satisfactory: RMSEA = 0 [0, 0.044, 90% CI], SRMR = 0.01, CFI = 1.00, and TLI = 1.00
Summary
Impacts of COVID-19 on Daily Life and Mental Health. Since December 2019, the coronavirus epidemic, known as COVID-19, originated from Wuhan, China, and spread rapidly worldwide [1]. The virus is referred to as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) [2]. We will refer to this disease as COVID-19. The rapid emergence of the COVID-19 outbreak worldwide has dramatically changed daily behavior, significantly impacting the population’s physical, social, mental, and financial wellbeing [4]. Individuals must navigate school closures, employment insecurity, and social behavior changes, which are likely to negatively affect their mental health and coping abilities [5, 6]. Recognizing that increased stress can lead to maladaptive behaviors to cope with stress and anxiety, health professionals highlighted the need for all individuals to manage stress and maintain their mental health during this highly uncertain period [6, 7]
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