Psychometric properties of COVID-19 phobia scale (C19P-S) in an Iranian population

The world has recently faced COVID-19 pandemic. Phobia or panic has been considered as one of the most common mental disorders during various infectious pandemics. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Covid-19 phobic scale in an Iranian population.

The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional correlational research which was performed on 402 Iranian participants in Tehran (191 females, 211 males). The participants were selected through convenience sampling method by an online survey form. They completed a battery of scales, including the Corona Anxiety Scale (CDAS), the Corona Phobia Scale (C19P-S) and the Corona Virus Anxiety Scale by online Google Form. The data were analyzed using SPSS-25 and LISREL software with descriptive statistics, Cronbachchr('39')s alpha, Pearson correlation coefficient, and confirmatory factor analysis to describe the data, internal consistency, validity, and construct validity, respectively.

The results showed that Cronbachchr('39')s alpha methodchr('39')s internal consistency for the Corona phobia scale was 0.91. Cronbachchr('39')s alpha was reported for psychological, psychosomatic, economic, and social subscales repeated 0.85, 0.83, 0.79 and 0.8, respectively. In order to evaluate the validity, the correlation between the C19P-S questionnaire and its subscales with CDAS and Corona Virus Anxiety Scale was evaluated. The results showed that all correlations were positive and significant (P-value <0.05). The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results showed that the four-factor model has a good fit.

COVID-19 Phobia Scale can be used to assess levels of panic in therapeutic settings and identify candidates in need of clinical intervention.