| Literature DB >> 34025087 |
Fayez Azez Mahamid1, Guido Veronese2, Dana Bdier1, Rachel Pancake2.
Abstract
The main goal of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) in the Palestinian context and the factorial structure of the instrument. The CSS, a newly emerging internationally standardized measure of stress related to being exposed to or contracting COVID-19, was translated and validated for a Palestinian context to ensure that it can be used to measure COVID-19 stress. The sample of the study consisted of 860 Palestinian adults living in the West Bank of Palestine. Participants' age ranged from 20 to 48 years old (M = 34.7, SD =13.46). They were all recruited from online advertisements, e-mail campaigns, blogs, social media, and SMS campaigns. The CSS was found to be valid in the Arabic language within a Palestinian context. The confirmatory factor analysis yielded six factors: (1) Fears about the dangerousness of COVID-19, (2) fears about the personal social, and economic consequences of COVID-19, fears of disruption in the supply chain, fears of looting or rioting, (3) COVID-19-xenophobia, fears that foreigners are sources of COVID-19, (4) fears about sources of COVID-19-related contamination,(5) traumatic stress symptoms related to COVID-19, and (6) COVID-19-related checking which is consisting with the ordinal structure the scale. The CSS demonstrated a high level of validity and reliability in a Palestinian context and therefore can be considered for future studies as the COVID-19 pandemic persists. Further investigations using the Arabic Language of CSS may have far-reaching implications for measuring and combating the stress of COVID-19 at a personal and societal level for uniquely at-risk populations such as in the occupied territories of Palestine.Entities:
Keywords: Covid-19; Palestine; Stress of disease; Test validation
Year: 2021 PMID: 34025087 PMCID: PMC8131190 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-01794-5
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Curr Psychol ISSN: 1046-1310
CSS in a Palestinian Context
Covariances created in the six-scale construct (n = 860)
| Estimate | Standardized | S.E. | C.R. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danger | .745 | .059 | 12.671 | ***.001 |
| Socio-economic | .598 | .054 | 11.052 | ***.001 |
| Xenophobia | .837 | .078 | 10.772 | ***.001 |
| Contamination | .921 | .071 | 14.674 | ***.001 |
| Traumatic stress | .913 | .063 | 14.406 | ***.001 |
| Compulsive checking | .642 | .060 | 10.787 | ***.001 |
***P significance ≤ .001
Fig. 1Confirmatory factor analysis of the COVID-19 stress scale
Pearson Correlation Coefficients between CSS, FCV-19S and DASS21 scales (n = 860)
| Scale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. CSS | .71** | .54** | .50** | .46** | |
| 1. FCV-19S | .56** | .62** | .66** | ||
| 3. Stress | .80** | .85** | |||
| 4. Anxiety | .73** | ||||
| 5. Depression |
**correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Reliability indicators of CSS (n = 860)
| Reliability | Cronbach’s Alpha if Item Deleted | Corrected Item-Total Correlation | Test-retest | Guttmann Split- Half | α |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I am worried about catching the virus | .946 | .662 | .821 | ||
| I am worried that I ‘cannot keep my family safe from the virus | .947 | .595 | .813 | ||
| I am worried that our healthcare system won’t be able to protect my loved ones | .948 | .426 | .814 | ||
| I am worried that basic hygiene (e.g., handwashing) is not enough to keep me safe from the virus | .947 | .584 | .824 | ||
| I am worried that social distancing is not enough to keep me safe from the virus | .947 | .561 | .816 | ||
| I am worried about grocery stores running out of food | .948 | .496 | .834 | ||
| I am worried that grocery stores will close down | .949 | .382 | .826 | ||
| I am worried about grocery stores running out of cleaning or disinfectant supplies | .947 | .542 | .842 | ||
| I am worried about grocery stores running out of cold or flu remedies | .947 | .583 | .819 | ||
| I am worried about pharmacies running out of prescription medicines | .947 | .567 | .782 | ||
| If I went to a restaurant that specialized in foreign foods, I’d worried about catching the virus | .947 | .620 | .821 | ||
| I am worried about coming into contact with foreigners because they might have the virus | .946 | .686 | .778 | ||
| If I was in an elevator with a group of foreigners, I’d be worried that ‘they’re infected with the virus | .946 | .660 | .842 | ||
| I am worried that foreigners are spreading the virus because ‘they’re not as clean as we are | .946 | .706 | .815 | ||
| I am worried that if I touched something in a public space (e.g., handrail, door handle), I would catch the virus | .946 | .686 | .813 | ||
| I am worried that if someone coughed or sneezed near me, I would catch the virus | .946 | .675 | .768 | ||
| I am worried that people around me will infect me with the virus | .946 | .722 | .743 | ||
| I am worried about taking change in cash transactions | .946 | .694 | .783 | ||
| I am worried that I might catch the virus from handling money or using a debit machine | .946 | .631 | .814 | ||
| am worried that my mail has been contaminated by mail handlers | .946 | .712 | .864 | ||
| I had trouble concentrating because I kept thinking about the virus | .946 | .718 | .847 | ||
| Disturbing mental images about the virus popped into my mind against my will | .946 | .720 | .794 | ||
| I had trouble sleeping because I worried about the virus | .947 | .620 | .818 | ||
| Reminders of the virus caused me to have physical reactions, such as sweating or a pounding heart | .947 | .563 | .735 | ||
| I had bad dreams about the virus | .947 | .534 | .754 | ||
| Searched the Internet for treatments for COVID-19 | .948 | .494 | .849 | ||
| YouTube videos about COVID-19 | .948 | .506 | .873 | ||
| Asking health professionals (e.g., doctors or pharmacists) for advice about COVID-19 | .948 | .509 | .824 | ||
| Checking your own body for signs of infection (e.g., taking your temperature) | .947 | .563 | .857 | ||
| Seeking reassurance from friends or family about COVID-19 | .947 | .568 | .779 | ||
| Social media posts concerning COVID-19 | .948 | .487 | .819 | ||
| Total score | .812 | .861 | .948 |
Differences in the stress of COVID-19 by gender, academic status and smoking status (n = 860)
| Variable | Gender | Academic status | Smoking status | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Without collogue degree | With collogue degree | Smokers | Nonsmokers | |
| Mean (SD) | 1.72(.76) | 1.74(.74) | 1.75(.87) | 1.68(.72) | 2.30(.80) | 1.80(.77) |