Turkish Version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Validity and reliability study for children and adolescents

Abstract

Objective: The number of publications reporting anxiety and fear about the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) continues to grow; however, the psychometric tools available to assess a Turkish population are insufficient to measure the relevant mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and to analyze the validity and reliability in children and adolescents. Method: The study sample consisted of 381 children aged 10-18 years. Cronbach's alpha internal consistency analysis was used to evaluate the scale's reliability, and the criterion validity was assessed with the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression ScaleChild (RCADS-C) subscale scores. The construct validity of the scale was examined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient calculated to determine the scale's reliability was alpha=0.88. The corrected total item test correlation values of the items varied between 0.63 and 0.68. Exploratory factor analysis determined that the factor load of the scale items was 0.73-0.77 and that there was only one factor with an eigenvalue >1. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the fit indices were acceptable. Conclusion: These findings show that the Turkish version of the FCV-19S is a valid and reliable measurement tool for use with children and adolescents.