Adaptation and Preliminary Validation of the Fear of Coronavirus Vaccination Scale in the Prospective Study among a Representative Sample of Polish, Israeli, Slovenian, and German Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Although concerns about harm and side effects are among the most important factors determining vaccine hesitancy, research on the fear of vaccination is sparse. The purpose of this study is a validation the Fear of Coronavirus Vaccination Scale (FoCVVS), adapted from the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. A representative sample of 1723 young adults aged 20–40 from Poland, Israel, Slovenia, and Germany participated during two time-points of the third COVID-19 pandemic wave. The online survey included demographic variables and several well-being dimensions, including gender, vaccination status, fear of coronavirus (FoCV-19S), physical health (GSRH), life satisfaction (SWLS), and perceived stress (PSS-10), anxiety (GAD-7), and depression (PHQ-9). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed at T1, and confirmatory analysis (CFA) at T2. The second-order two-factor structure demonstrated the best fit and very good discriminant and convergent validation. The general factor of the FoCVVS included two subscales assessing the emotional and physiological symptoms of fear of vaccination. Unvaccinated people showed higher levels of fear of vaccination than those vaccinated. A vaccination status, fear of vaccination T1, and fear of COVID-19 T1 were significant predictors of fear of vaccination T2. Vaccination-promoting programs should be focused on decreasing fear and enhancing the beneficial effects of vaccination.

The Mental Health of Poles during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…It is in line with the results obtained by Huang et al, who observed that at 6 months after the COVID-19 pandemic began, patients were at greater risk of sleep difficulties, and anxiety or depression [69]. In the literature it is also reported that mental health problems might be one of the reasons for patient's lack of vaccine acceptance [70]. However, it is associated mainly with lack of trust in science, governments, and so-called 'conspiratorial thinking' about COVID-19 [71].…”

Development and validation of the COVID-19 Impact Scale in Australia

“…The 30 items were newly developed and relevant literature that we consulted to inform item development and topics that should be measured by the questionnaire items were the Vaccine Hesitancy Survey Questions from the WHO (World Health Organization, 2018), the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (Ahorsu et al, 2020), the Motors of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale (Chen et al, 2021), and the COVID-19 Student Stress Questionnaire (Ochnik, Rogowska, Benatov, & Arzenšek, 2022;Zurlo, Cattaneo Della Volta, & Vallone, 2020). The 30 items were then presented to members of a professional panel consisting of psychologists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, dentists, and public health and Indigenous health experts, which comprised the research team behind the CIS development.…”

The Vaccination Fear Scale (VFS-6): Adaptation, Cross-Cultural Validation, and Invariance among Genders and Six Different Cultures, Applying Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT)

“…Research on this topic often provides the relevant information needed for the development of interventions that are aimed at reducing fear, particularly given that fear symptoms are relatively identifiable and manageable [15]. However, it is noteworthy that there is a notable lack of reliable tools available for measuring the impact of fear, which might explain the scarcity of studies in this area.…”

“…Subsequently, Ochnik et al [15] developed and validated the Coronavirus Vaccination Fear Scale (FoCVVS) concerning the German, Polish, Slovenian, and Hebrew languages, following the same methodology used by Malas and Tolsá [9] in creating the VFS-6. Despite both scales starting from the same methodology, there are certain differences between them.…”

“…In the VFS-6 scale, item number 5 was excluded because it loaded almost equally on the two factors with an unacceptable loading weight (<0.50), indicating its unclear role in the factor structure. This item, however, was not removed in the Ochnik et al [15] scale. It is worth mentioning that the VFS-6 was adapted by Malas and Tolsá [9] to measure fear of any vaccine, including the COVID-19 vaccine, thereby resulting in more generalized items.…”