Fear of Contracting COVID-19: A validation study of the Fear of Contracting COVID-19 Scale in Portuguese adolescents

Authors

  • Maria de Fátima Sousa Ramos Instituto Superior Miguel Torga https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0234-9073
  • Ana Galhardo Instituto Superior Miguel Torga; CINEICC – Centro de Investigação em Neuropsicologia e Intervenção Cognitivo-Comportamental – Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3484-6683
  • Marina Cunha Instituto Superior Miguel Torga; CINEICC – Centro de Investigação em Neuropsicologia e Intervenção Cognitivo-Comportamental – Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5957-1903
  • Ilda Massano-Cardoso Instituto Superior Miguel Torga; CEISUC - Centro de Estudos e Investigação em Saúde da Universidade de Coimbra https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2510-2348

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31211/rpics.2021.7.2.215

Keywords:

Fear of contracting Covid-19, Anxiety, Depression, Stress, Quality of Life

Abstract

Introduction: Given the pandemic circumstances, fear may emerge due to uncertainty, the possibility of being infected by SARS-Cov 2 or infecting others. It may also be associated with psychopathological symptoms and impact quality of life resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: The current study aimed to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Fear of Contracting COVID-19 Scale (FCCS) in Portuguese adolescents and analyze the relationship between fear of contracting COVID-19 and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, and with the quality of life of this age group. Method: The sample comprised 269 adolescents (137 boys and 132 girls), aged between 11 and 16 years old, attending the 3rd cycle of basic education. Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the FCCS, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21), and the KIDSCREEN-10, as a measure of the quality of life in adolescents. Results: The FCCS revealed, as in its original version for adults, a one-dimensional structure, with good adjustment indicators and good reliability. The fear of contracting COVID-19 was associated with anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms, but it did not show a relationship with the adolescents’ quality of life. Gender differences showed that the girls present higher levels of fear of contracting COVID-19, more anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms, and a worse perception of their quality of life. Conclusions: The Fear of Contracting COVID-19 Scale showed to be suitable for use with adolescents. The fear of contracting COVID-19, although associated with psychopathological symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, does not seem to be related to the quality of life of adolescents.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C. Y., Imani, V., Saffari, M., Griffiths, M. D., & Pakpour, A. H. (2020). The fear of COVID-19 scale: Development and initial validation. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1–9. https://doi.org/ggq8b9

Alcobia, I., Claro, C., & Esteves, M. L. (2020). O olhar das crianças/adolescentes sobre a pandemia Covid-19 e a psicologia. Revista INFAD de Psicología. International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology, 2(1), 249–256. https://doi.org/g36s

Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet. 395(10227), 912–920. https://doi.org/ggnth8

Brito, I. (2011). Ansiedade e depressão na adolescência. Revista Portuguesa de Medicina Geral e Familiar, 27(2), 208–214. https://bit.ly/3GRGJKV

Cao, W., Fang, Z., Hou, G., Han, M., Xu, X., Dong, J., & Zheng, J. (2020). The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry Research, 287, 112934. https://doi.org/ggq78v

Cohen, J. (1992). Statistical power analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1(3), 98–101. https://doi.org/cxqf2s

Correia, D. T., & Brites J. A. (2020). Guia prático para vencer a ansiedade. Bertrand Editora.

Costello, A. B., & Osborne, J. (2005). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 10(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/ghgv6m

Direção Geral da Saúde. (2020). Relatório de situação. https://bit.ly/3CuAJ82

Gaspar, T., Matos, M. G. D., Ribeiro, J. L. P., & Leal, I. (2006). Qualidade de vida e bem-estar em crianças e adolescentes. Revista Brasileira de Terapias Cognitivas, 2(2), 47–60. https://bit.ly/3GQGXSm

Gaspar, T., & Matos, M. G. (2008). Qualidade de vida em crianças e adolescentes: Versão portuguesa dos instrumentos KIDSCREEN-52. Aventura Social e Saúde.

Gaspar, T., Ribeiro, J. L. P., Matos, M. G., & Leal, I. (2008). Promoção de qualidade de vida em crianças e adolescentes. Psicologia, Saúde & Doenças, 9(1), 55–71. https://bit.ly/3BRddRQ

Hamoda, H. M., Chiumento, A., Alonge, O., Hamdani, S. U., Saeed, K., Wissow, L., & Rahman, A. (2021). Addressing the consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown for children’s mental health: Investing in school mental health programs. Psychiatric Services, 72(6), 729–731. https://doi.org/g36q

Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cut-off criteria for fit indexes in covariance, structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modelling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/dbt

Jiao, W. Y., Wang, L. N., Liu, J., Fang, S. F., Jiao, F. Y., Pettoello-Mantovani, M., & Somekh, E. (2020). Behavioral and emotional disorders in children during the COVID-19 epidemic. The Journal of Pediatrics, 221, 264–266. https://doi.org/ggv5m9

Kline, R. B. (2000). Principles and practice of structural equation modelling (2ª ed.). The Guilford Press.

Kline, T. J. B. (2005). Psychological testing: A practical approach to design and evaluation. Sage Publications.

Lee, S. A. (2020a). Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: A brief mental health screener for COVID-19 related anxiety. Death Studies, 44(7), 393–401. https://doi.org/ggv45c

Lee, S. A. (2020b). How much “Thinking” about COVID-19 is clinically dysfunctional? Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 87, 97–98. https://doi.org/ggv3nc

Magalhães, A. (2007). A psicologia das emoções: O fascínio do rosto humano. Edições Universidade Fernando Pessoa.

Magson, N. R., Freeman, J. Y., Rapee, R. M., Richardson, C. E., Oar, E. L., & Fardouly, J. (2020). Risk and protective factors for prospective changes in adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(1), 44–57. https://doi.org/gj277j

Marôco, J. (2010). Análise de equações estruturais: Fundamentos teóricos, software & aplicações. ReportNumber.

Marôco, J. (2014). Análise estatística com o SPSS Statistics (7ª Ed.). Report Number, Lda.

Matos, M. G. D., Gaspar, T., & Simões, C. (2012). Health-related quality of life in Portuguese children and adolescents. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 25(2), 230–237. https://doi.org/g34q

Masuyama, A., Shinkawa, H., & Kubo, T. (2020). Validation and psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the fear of COVID-19 scale among adolescents. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1–11. https://doi.org/gg4vkc

Matos, M. G. D., Gaspar, T., & Simões, C. (2012). Health-related quality of life in Portuguese children and adolescents. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 25(2), 230–237. https://doi.org/g34q

Merino V. A. & Agustin N. M. (2020). Analysis of the stress, anxiety and healthy habits in the Spanish COVID-19 confinement. Health Science Journal, 14(2), 1–6. https://bit.ly/3o3Apay

Miliauskas, C. R., & Faus, D. P. (2020). Saúde mental de adolescentes em tempos de Covid-19: desafios e possibilidades de enfrentamento. Physis: Revista de Saúde Coletiva, 30, e300402. https://doi.org/gkrrkh

Nabuco, G., de Oliveira, M. H. P. P., & Afonso, M. P. D. (2020). O impacto da pandemia pela COVID-19 na saúde mental. Revista Brasileira de Medicina de Família e Comunidade, 15(42), 2532–2532. https://doi.org/10.5712/rbmfc15(42)2532

Oliveira, W. A. D., Silva, J. L. D., Andrade, A. L. M., Micheli, D. D., Carlos, D. M., & Silva, M. A. I. (2020). A saúde do adolescente em tempos da COVID-19: Scoping review. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 36, e00150020. https://doi.org/gk7k7h

Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses. (2014). Investir na prevenção e promoção da saúde mental em contexto educativo. http://recursos.ordemdospsicologos.pt/files/artigos/investir_na_prev_e_prom_da_sp_em_c_edu.pdf

Ornell, F., Schuch, J. B., Sordi, A. O., & Kessler, F. H. P. (2020). Pandemia de medo e Covid-19: impacto na saúde mental e possíveis estratégias. Revista Debates in Psychiatry, 42(3), 232-235. https://doi.org/ggr2rn

Pais-Ribeiro, J. L. P., Honrado, A. A. J. D., & Leal, I. (2004). Contribuição para o estudo da adaptação portuguesa das escalas de ansiedade, depressão e stress (EADS) de 21 itens de Lovibond e Lovibond. Psicologia, Saúde & Doenças, 5(2), 229–239. https://bit.ly/2ZW9Ifu

Paulino, M., Dumas-Diniz, R., Brissos, S., Brites, R., Alho, L., Simões, M. R., & Silva, C. F. (2021). COVID-19 in Portugal: exploring the immediate psychological impact on the general population. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 26(1), 44–55. https://doi.org/f3s3

Pestana, M., & Gageiro, J. (2020). Análise de dados para ciências sociais: A complementaridade do SPSS. Edições Sílabo.

Ravens-Sieberer, U., Gosch, A., Rajmil, L., Erhart, M., Bruil, J., Duer, W., Auquier, P., Power, M., Abel, T., Czemy, L., Mazur, J., Czimbalmos, A., Tountas, Y., Hagquist, C., Kilroe, J., & European KIDSCREEN Group (2005). KIDSCREEN-52 quality-of-life measure for children and adolescents. Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, 5(3), 353–364. https://doi.org/b5bprf

Reeve, J. (2014). Understanding motivation and emotion. John Wiley & Sons.

Rogers, R. W. (1975). A protection motivation theory of fear appeals and attitude change. The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 91(1), 93–114. https://doi.org/cb4jgn

Salvaterra, F., & Chora, M. (2021). Relatório de investigação. https://bit.ly/3nB5vGo

Schmidt, B., Crepaldi, M. A., Bolze, S. D. A., Neiva-Silva, L., & Demenech, L. M. (2020). Impactos na saúde mental e intervenções psicológicas diante da pandemia do novo coronavírus (COVID-19). Estudos de Psicologia, 37, e200063. https://doi.org/ggxdwt

Schoen, T. H., & Vitalle, M. S. S. (2012). What am I afraid of? Revista Paulista de Pediatria, 30(1), 72–78. https://doi.org/g43j

Singh, S., Roy, M. D., Sinha, C. P. T. M. K., Parveen, C. P. T. M. S., Sharma, C. P. T. G., & Joshi, C. P. T. G. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: A narrative review with recommendations. Psychiatry Research, 293, 113429. https://doi.org/ghj8xn

Soares, A. H. R., Martins, A. J., Lopes, M. D. C. B., Britto, J. A. A. D., Oliveira, C. Q. D., & Moreira, M. C. N. (2011). Qualidade de vida de crianças e adolescentes: uma revisão bibliográfica. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 16, 3197–3206. https://doi.org/g34p

Soares, F. R., Afonso, R. M., Martins, A. P., Pakpour, A. H., & Rosa, C. P. (2021). The fear of the COVID-19 Scale: validation in the Portuguese general population. Death Studies, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2021.1889722

Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics. Pearson Education.

Taylor, S., Landry, C. A., Paluszek, M. M., Fergus, T. A., McKay, D., & Asmundson, G. J. (2020). Development and initial validation of the COVID Stress Scales. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 72, 102232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102232

Trindade, I. A., & Ferreira, N. B. (2020). COVID-19 Pandemic’s effects on disease and psychological outcomes of people with inflammatory bowel disease in Portugal: A preliminary research. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. 27(8), 1224–1229. https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izaa261

Wallander, J. L., Schmitt, M., & Koot, H. M. (2001). Quality of life measurement in children and adolescents: issues, instruments, and applications. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(4), 571–585. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.1029

Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic among the general population in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5). https://doi.org/ggpxx6

Wise, T., Zbozinek, T. D., Michelini, G., Hagan, C. C., & Mobbs, D. (2020). Changes in risk perception and self-reported protective behaviour during the first week of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Royal Society Open Science, 7(9), 200742. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200742

World Health Organization. Division of Health Promotion, Education, and Communication. (‎1998)‎. Promoción de la salud: glosario. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/67246

World Health Organization. (2020) Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. https://bit.ly/3GxdBZa

Published

2021-11-30

How to Cite

Sousa Ramos, M. de F., Galhardo, A., Cunha, M. ., & Massano-Cardoso, I. . (2021). Fear of Contracting COVID-19: A validation study of the Fear of Contracting COVID-19 Scale in Portuguese adolescents. Portuguese Journal of Behavioral and Social Research, 7(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.31211/rpics.2021.7.2.215

Issue

Section

Original Paper