Malay Version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Validity and Reliability

Abstract

The newly developed Persian Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a seven-item uni-dimensional scale that assesses the severity of fear of COVID-19. A translation and validation of the FCV-19S in the Malay language was expedited due to the severe psychological sequelae of COVID-19 in Malaysia. Formal WHO forward and backward translation sequences were employed in translating the English version into Malay. Malaysian university participants were recruited via convenience sampling online using snowball methods. The reliability and validity properties of the Malay FCV-19S were rigorously psychometrically evaluated (utilising both confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis) in relation to sociodemographic variables and response to the depression, anxiety and stress subscales of the Malay validation of the DASS-21. The sample comprised 228 Malaysian participants. The Cronbach α value for the Malay FCV-19S was 0.893 indicating very good internal reliability. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the uni-dimensional factor structure of the FCV19S fitted well with the data. The FCV-19S-M was significantly correlated with anxiety (r = 0.481, p < 0.001) and stress (r = 0.389, p < 0.001) subscales of DASS-21. The FCV-19S-M's properties tested using Rasch analysis were also satisfactory. Hence, the Malay FCV-19S is valid and reliable, with robust psychometric properties from classical and modern psychometric methods. It therefore is a highly crucial and timely addition to the psychological toolkit both in operational and research settings in identifying, managing and responding to the psychological distress engendered by COVID-19.

The Importance of High Index of Suspicion and Immediate Containment of Suspected Covid-19 Cases in Institute of Higher Education Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

“…The situation was brought under control and no more suspected COVID-19 cases reported among those students in the campus. Also, ultra-brief psychological interventions were deployed as well to deal with the risk of Covid-19 in students 27,28 , and new tools were validated in order to more accurately measure the fear of Covid-19 amongst students and staff alike 29 .…”

Validation and Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese Version of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Associations with Travel, Tourism and Hospitality

“…Additionally, Ahorsu and colleagues [ 10 ] developed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) to identify and early intervene, psychologically, in people with high values of fear of COVID-19. This scale has been validated in the Bangla [ 21 ], Greek [ 22 ], Arabic [ 23 ], Malay [ 24 ], Italian [ 25 ], Hebrew [ 26 ] and Spanish [ 27 ] languages, Spanish language in Peru [ 28 ], Spanish language in Argentina [ 29 ], Portuguese language in Brazil [ 30 ], Japanese [ 31 ] and Chinese [ 32 ] languages and in Eastern Europe [ 33 ] and India [ 34 ].…”

The Association between Future Anxiety, Health Literacy and the Perception of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…A validation demonstrated its robust psychometric properties and correlation with the results of the assessments using other related tools including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Scale. Currently, several validated linguistic versions of the FC19S are available [23][24][25][26][27][28][29].…”