A network analysis of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S): a large-scale cross-cultural study in Iran, Bangladesh, and Norway

Lecuona, O, Lin, C-Y, Rozgonjuk, D, Norekvål, TM, Iversen, MM, Mamun, MA, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, Lin, T-I and Pakpour, AH, 2022. A network analysis of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S): a large-scale cross-cultural study in Iran, Bangladesh, and Norway. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (11): 6824. ISSN 1661-7827

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Abstract

The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to high levels of fear worldwide. Given that fear is an important factor in causing psychological distress and facilitating preventive behaviors, assessing the fear of COVID-19 is important. The seven-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a widely used psychometric instrument to assess this fear. However, the factor structure of the FCV-19S remains unclear according to the current evidence. Therefore, the present study used a network analysis to provide further empirical evidence for the factor structure of FCV-19S. A total of 24,429 participants from Iran (n = 10,843), Bangladesh (n = 9906), and Norway (n = 3680) completed the FCV-19S in their local language. A network analysis (via regularized partial correlation networks) was applied to investigate the seven FCV-19S items. Moreover, relationships between the FCV-19S items were compared across gender (males vs. females), age groups (18-30 years, 31-50 years, and >50 years), and countries (Iran, Bangladesh, and Norway). A two-factor structure pattern was observed (three items concerning physical factors, including clammy hands, insomnia, and heart palpitations; four items concerning psychosocial factors, including being afraid, uncomfortable, afraid of dying, and anxious about COVID-19 news). Moreover, this pattern was found to be the same among men and women, across age groups and countries. The network analysis used in the present study verified the two-factor structure for the FCV-19S. Future studies may consider using the two-factor structure of FCV-19S to assess the fear of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 era.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Creators:	Lecuona, O., Lin, C.-Y., Rozgonjuk, D., Norekvål, T.M., Iversen, M.M., Mamun, M.A., Griffiths, M.D., Lin, T.-I. and Pakpour, A.H.
Publisher:	MDPI
Date:	2 June 2022
Volume:	19
Number:	11
ISSN:	1661-7827
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.3390/ijerph19116824 DOI 1551145 Other
Rights:	Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	06 Jun 2022 11:34
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2022 11:34
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/46399

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