Design and validation of a scale to measure worry for contagion of the COVID-19 (PRE-COVID-19).
Tomás Caycho-Rodríguez, José Ventura-León, Miguel Barboza-Palomino
PMID 33323307WHAT IT FOUND
A brief worry-about-catching-COVID-19 scale was clear and relevant for adults in Peru, and higher worry tracked with more anxiety, lower well-being, and poorer self-rated health.
It measures worry, not proof that reducing worry improves function.
Key findings
01The adapted PRE-COVID-19 scale was judged clear, relevant, and consistent by experts and by adults similar to the sample.
02The scale's items formed a common worry factor, with a consistency estimate of 0.90.
03Higher worry about catching COVID-19 was associated with higher anxiety, lower well-being, and poorer perceived health.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Participants were recruited online from selected cities in Peru and were not a random sample of the general population. The sample was mostly women, so sex differences in the scale could not be checked. No second measurement was done, so the scale's stability over time is unknown. The study was one-time, so it cannot show whether anxiety or poor health caused worry or resulted from it. The anxiety comparison used only two items about symptom frequency, not severity or duration. The scale was developed and tested in adults aged 18 to 50 in Peru, so its use in other ages or settings is not established.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that reducing worry will improve daily function. The study measured worry once in a convenience sample of adults in Peru, and the correlations with anxiety, well-being, and health do not show cause.