Development and validation of COVID-19 Impact Scale

Abstract

Background As the COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic is prolonged, psychological responses to the pandemic have changed, and a new scale to reflect these changes needs to be developed. In this study, we attempt to develop and validate the COVID-19 Impact Scale (CIS) to measure the psychological stress responses of the COVID-19 pandemic, including emotional responses and difficulty with activities of daily living. Methods We recruited 2152 participants. Participants completed the CIS, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), and other mental health related measures. The factor structure, reliability, and validity of the CIS were analyzed. In addition, the validity of the scale was confirmed by its relationships to the existing measures assessing fear of COVID-19, depression, anxiety, subjective well-being, and suicidal ideation. Results Using exploratory factor analysis (N1 = 1076), we derived a one-factor structure. In confirmatory factor analysis (N2 = 1076), the one-factor model showed good to excellent fitness. The CIS was positively correlated with depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, fear of COVID-19 and negatively correlated with subjective well-being. The FCV-19S did not show significant correlations with subjective well-being or suicidal ideation, and FCV-19S’s explanatory powers on depression and anxiety were lower than those of the CIS. Conclusions These results support that the CIS is a valid assessment of emotional problems and deterioration of the quality of life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the limitations of this study and future research directions are discussed.

Psychometric evidence of a new short version in Spanish of the COVID-19 impact scale: A study based on confirmatory factor analysis, graded response model, multigroup analysis, and path analysis

“…Specifically, validity evidence based on internal structure and relationship to other variables, reliability, MI, and item discrimination and difficulty parameters will be evaluated. It is expected that the CIS will maintain a unidimensional structure and an excellent estimate of reliability, as in the original study [20]. In addition, the CIS is expected to be positively and significantly related to fear of COVID-19, as noted above [20].…”

“…It is expected that the CIS will maintain a unidimensional structure and an excellent estimate of reliability, as in the original study [20]. In addition, the CIS is expected to be positively and significantly related to fear of COVID-19, as noted above [20]. While the original CIS study did not assess item characteristics based on the IRT, it is expected that they will have adequate discrimination and difficulty parameters just like other mental health measures during the pandemic [16,18].…”

“…While these instruments measure important emotional responses characteristic of the early phases of the pandemic, there is a need for instruments that can provide information on changes in these emotional responses as the pandemic has progressed. In this regard, the COVID-19 impact scale (CIS) [20], which aims to measure psychological stress responses produced by the COVID-19 pandemic, including emotional responses and difficulty performing activities of daily living. In this way, the CIS would allow tracking of emotional and daily living problems that may persist after the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…In this way, the CIS would allow tracking of emotional and daily living problems that may persist after the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial psychometric analysis of the CIS [20], indicated the presence of a unidimensional structure, by means of an exploratory factor analysis, which showed an excellent fit of the data, by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In addition, the CIS showed positive correlations with the presence of depressive symptoms, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and fear of COVID-19; whereas it correlated negatively with subjective well-being.…”

“…The initial psychometric study of the CIS [20], was conducted on the basis of classical test theory (CTT), which is the most traditional method for evaluating the properties of a scale. This method considers the scales as a whole, based on correlations and assuming that all the items that make up a scale are equal indicators of the construct to be measured [21].…”