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. 2022 Jan 5:1-17.
doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-02471-3. Online ahead of print.

Psychometric evaluation of fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) among Chinese primary and middle schoolteachers, and their students

I-Hua Chen  1 , Chao-Ying Chen  2 , Ke-Yun Zhao  3 , Jeffrey H Gamble  4 , Chung-Ying Lin  5   6   7 , Mark D Griffiths  8 , Amir H Pakpour  9
Affiliations

Psychometric evaluation of fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) among Chinese primary and middle schoolteachers, and their students

I-Hua Chen et al. Curr Psychol. .

Abstract

Utilizing a large-scale cross-sectional survey, the present study tested the advanced psychometric properties of Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in specific populations (i.e., primary and middle schoolteachers, and their students). The present study also examined the association between perceived fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress among home-room teachers (i.e., teachers who teach all their students in one classroom all day) and their students. The results among participants (11,134 teachers and 4,335 students) indicated good internal reliability of FCV-19S and excellent factorial validity with a two-factor structure utilizing these specific populations. Furthermore, the multilevel analysis showed that home-room teachers' psychological distress, but not fear of COVID-19, was positively associated with their students. In sum, the FCV-19S is a useful tool to assess the fear of COVID-19 on potentially vulnerable populations (i.e., primary/middle schoolteachers and their students). Future studies are encouraged to use the present study's findings to investigate possible underlying mechanisms for developing effective coping strategies and interventions.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02471-3.

Keywords: COVID-19; Fear of COVID-19 Scale; fear of COVID-19; psychometrics; students; teachers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestAll the authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The concurrent validity of the one-factor structure FCV-19S supported by the association with psychological distress. a The association coefficient of teachers engaging in online teaching; b The association coefficient of teachers not engaging in online teaching; c The association coefficient of students
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The concurrent validity of the two-factor structure FCV-19S supported by the association with psychological distress. a The association coefficient of teachers engaging in online teaching; b The association coefficient of teachers not engaging in online teaching; c The association coefficient of students
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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