The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will increase as the outbreak continues and persist even after the pandemic passes. We developed an 11-item Coronavirus Pandemic Anxiety Scale (CPAS-11) to measure symptoms of anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic to help identify individuals who might need mental health services. In developing the scale items, we considered previous research and theory on anxiety symptoms and symptoms reported by clinically referred cases in the Philippines. The scale was validated in a Filipino sample ( N = 925). Exploratory factor analysis indicated two factors corresponding to somatic and non-somatic symptoms; confirmatory factor analysis showed good fit for the two-factor model. CPAS-11 showed good internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and screening accuracy. A cutoff score of 15 showed adequate sensitivity and specificity to distinguish GAD-7 screened participants. The results support the viability of CPAS-11 as a screening tool to identify individuals experiencing COVID-19-related anxiety.

In the last 30 years, there has been a rapid increase of Filipino parents leaving the country and their families for better job opportunities abroad. Existing literature points out the impact of migration on the families and on the well-being, academic performance, and school behaviours, family and peer relationships of the children left behind, and the need for interventions to address these concerns. A review of the literature and a survey on the current practices in schools reveals a lack of structured and programmatic interventions in school, which mental health professionals in schools recognize to be essential to help OFW children adjust better. Considering the gaps in the current practice, we recommend that more purposive school-based and familyfocused psychological services are implemented to help the children and families left behind by OFW parents.

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The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will increase as the outbreak continues and persist even after the pandemic passes. We developed a 11-item Coronavirus Pandemic Anxiety Scale (CPAS-11) to measure symptoms of anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic to help identify individuals who might need mental health services. In developing the scale items, we considered previous research and theory on anxiety symptoms and symptoms reported by clinically referred cases in the Philippines. The scale was validated in a Filipino sample (N=925). Exploratory factor analysis indicated two factors corresponding to somatic and non-somatic symptoms; confirmatory factor analysis showed good fit for the two-factor model. CPAS-11 showed good internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and screening accuracy. A cutoff score of 15 showed adequate sensitivity and specificity to distinguish GAD-7 screened participants. The results support the viability of CPAS-11 as a screening tool to identify individuals experiencing COVID-19-related anxiety.

No abstract