The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community mental health: A psychometric and prevalence study in Turkey

doi:10.1111/hsc.13270

. 2021 Sep;29(5):e204-e213.

doi: 10.1111/hsc.13270. Epub 2021 Jan 1.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community mental health: A psychometric and prevalence study in Turkey

Oznur Korukcu¹, Meltem Ozkaya¹, Omer Faruk Boran², Maruf Boran³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Nursing, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
² Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Department of Intensive Care Unit, Amasya University, Amasya, Turkey.

PMID: 33386656
DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13270

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community mental health: A psychometric and prevalence study in Turkey

Oznur Korukcu et al. Health Soc Care Community. 2021 Sep.

. 2021 Sep;29(5):e204-e213.

doi: 10.1111/hsc.13270. Epub 2021 Jan 1.

Authors

Oznur Korukcu¹, Meltem Ozkaya¹, Omer Faruk Boran², Maruf Boran³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Nursing, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
² Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Department of Intensive Care Unit, Amasya University, Amasya, Turkey.

PMID: 33386656
DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13270

Abstract

Background: COVID-19, which is characterised by life-threatening symptoms, difficulty in breathing, and pneumonia symptoms and requires global emergency intervention, may cause psychological problems such as phobia, fear and anxiety. This study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in Turkish people and to determine the level of fear of COVID-19 among Turkish people.

Methods: The research was carried out between March and April 2020. A Personal Information Form and the FCV-19S were used to collect the research data. In the validity and reliability stage, 84 people were contacted randomly for data collection. After the validity and reliability analyses of the scale, a total of 431 Turkish people volunteered to participate in the study and answered the questions in the online questionnaire form using a convenience and snowball sampling method. Confirmatory factor analysis, item-total correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were calculated for psychometric evaluation. Bivariate analysis was applied to determine the level of fear of COVID-19.

Results: Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.89, which is stated to have high reliability. FCV-19S scores of participants were determined to be 21.47 ± 6.28. FCV-19S scores of females were determined as 20.48 ± 6.33 and FCV-19S scores of males were determined as 19.78 ± 7.34 according to the bivariate analysis (p < .05). Age, marital status, having children and living alone or with others, tobacco use and anxiety about going to the hospital during the pandemic did not affect on fear of COVID-19 (p > .05). Particularly being female, the presence of chronic disease requiring long-term medication and rarely taking protective measures recommended by the Ministry of Health and having a chronic disease had a significant effect on higher levels of fear of COVID-19 (p < .05).

Conclusion: The FCV-19S is a valid and reliable tool for determining the fear of COVID-19. It was found that the fear level of COVID-19 infection was high in Turkish people.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; SARS-CoV-2; coronaphobia; disease outbreak; fear of COVID-19.

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References

REFERENCES

1. 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/10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8
1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books/9780890425596
1. Asmundson, G. J., & Taylor, S. (2020). Coronaphobia: Fear and the 2019-nCoV outbreak. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 70, 102196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102196
1. Ataç, O., Çavdar, S., & Tokaç, A. Z. (2020). First 100 days of the COVID-19 pandemic: An evaluation of preventive measures taken by countries. Anadolu Kliniği Tıp Bilimleri Dergisi, 25(Supplement 1), 228-237. https://doi.org/10.21673/anadoluklin.733245
1. Bostan, S., Erdem, R., Öztürk, Y., Kılıç, T., & Yılmaz, A. (2020). The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the Turkish society. Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 17, em237. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/7944

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[1] 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/10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8

[2] 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/10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8

[3] American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books/9780890425596

[4] American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books/9780890425596

[5] Asmundson, G. J., & Taylor, S. (2020). Coronaphobia: Fear and the 2019-nCoV outbreak. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 70, 102196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102196

[6] Asmundson, G. J., & Taylor, S. (2020). Coronaphobia: Fear and the 2019-nCoV outbreak. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 70, 102196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102196

[7] Ataç, O., Çavdar, S., & Tokaç, A. Z. (2020). First 100 days of the COVID-19 pandemic: An evaluation of preventive measures taken by countries. Anadolu Kliniği Tıp Bilimleri Dergisi, 25(Supplement 1), 228-237. https://doi.org/10.21673/anadoluklin.733245

[8] Ataç, O., Çavdar, S., & Tokaç, A. Z. (2020). First 100 days of the COVID-19 pandemic: An evaluation of preventive measures taken by countries. Anadolu Kliniği Tıp Bilimleri Dergisi, 25(Supplement 1), 228-237. https://doi.org/10.21673/anadoluklin.733245

[9] Bostan, S., Erdem, R., Öztürk, Y., Kılıç, T., & Yılmaz, A. (2020). The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the Turkish society. Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 17, em237. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/7944

[10] Bostan, S., Erdem, R., Öztürk, Y., Kılıç, T., & Yılmaz, A. (2020). The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the Turkish society. Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 17, em237. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/7944

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The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community mental health: A psychometric and prevalence study in Turkey

Affiliations

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community mental health: A psychometric and prevalence study in Turkey

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

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REFERENCES

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