The COVID-19 Family Stressor Scale: Validation and Measurement Invariance in Female and Male Caregivers

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised significant concerns regarding the effect of social disruptions on parental mental health, family well-being, and children’s adjustment. Due to the pace of the pandemic, measures of pandemic-related disruption have not been subject to rigorous empirical validation. To address this gap, a multi-national sample (United Kingdom, 76%; United States, 19%; Canada, 4%, and Australia, 1%) of 372 female caregivers and 158 male caregivers of 5-18 year-old children was recruited online. Participants completed a survey including a 25-item scale indexing disruption in finances, basic needs, personal and family welfare, career/education, household responsibilities, and family relationships related to the pandemic. An exploratory factor analysis yielded an optimal three-factor solution: factors included Income Stress (5 items related to income, debt, and job loss; loadings ranged from .57 to .91), Family Stress (7 items related to family altercations and child management; loadings from .57 to .87), and Chaos Stress (4 items related to access to supplies, crowded shopping areas, news coverage; loadings from .53 to .70). Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated measurement invariance of each factor across female and male caregivers, indicating that factor structure, loadings, and thresholds were equivalent across groups. Composites reflective of each factor were computed, and paired samples t-tests showed that female caregivers consistently report higher levels of COVID-19 stress related to income, family, and chaos compared to male caregivers. Finally, concurrent validity was demonstrated by significant bivariate correlations between each scale and indicators of parental and child mental health and family relationships. This demonstrates validity of the COVID-19 Family Stressor Scale for use with female and male caregivers in family-based research. The current sample was predominantly White-European. Additional sampling and validation efforts are required in order to provide adequate description of racialized and minority communities at disproportionate risk of social consequences related to the pandemic.

The Recover Study: A Cross-Sectional Examination of the Relationship Between Ontario Parents’ Resilience and COVID-19-Related Stressors

“…Higher scores indicate parents facing increased COVID-19-related psychological stressors. Total scores on the family, income, and chaos stress subscales range from 7 to 21, 5 to 15, and 4 to 12, respectively, with higher scores indicating more stress in the corresponding aspect of family life (per Prime et al, 2021).…”

“…The online survey consisted of a short demographic questionnaire, the previously validated 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10; Connor & Davidson, 2003) and the COVID-19 Family Stressors Scale (CoFaSS; Prime et al, 2021), as well as three open-ended questions to more deeply explore parents' perceptions and experiences of their pandemic-related stressors.…”

“…The CoFaSS was recently validated for family-based research (Cronbach's α range from 0.68 to 0.82; Prime et al, 2021) and consists of 16 items that measure COVID-19-related psychological stressors. The CoFaSS includes three subscales: (1) family stress, which includes seven items (i.e., items 9-15) related to family altercations and child management; (2) income stress, where five items (i.e., items 1-3 and 6-7) relate to income, debts, and job loss; and (3) chaos stress, with four items (i.e., items 4-5, 8, and 16) relating to access to supplies, crowded shopping areas, and news coverage (Prime et al, 2021). Participants were asked if, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, any of the changes described in the tool had occurred in their households by responding to the statements as either not true, somewhat true, or very true.…”