Psychometric Validation of the Bangla Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Rasch Analysis

Najmuj Sakib; A K M Israfil Bhuiyan; Sahadat Hossain; Firoj Al Mamun; Ismail Hosen; Abu Hasnat Abdullah; Md Abedin Sarker; Mohammad Sarif Mohiuddin; Istihak Rayhan; Moazzem Hossain; Md Tajuddin Sikder; David Gozal; Mohammad Muhit; S M Shariful Islam; Mark D Griffiths; Amir H Pakpour; Mohammed A Mamun

doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00289-x

Psychometric Validation of the Bangla Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Rasch Analysis

Int J Ment Health Addict. 2022;20(5):2623-2634. doi: 10.1007/s11469-020-00289-x. Epub 2020 May 11.

Authors

Najmuj Sakib^{1

2}, A K M Israfil Bhuiyan¹, Sahadat Hossain³, Firoj Al Mamun^{1

3}, Ismail Hosen^{1

3}, Abu Hasnat Abdullah^{1

3}, Md Abedin Sarker^{1

3}, Mohammad Sarif Mohiuddin⁴, Istihak Rayhan⁵, Moazzem Hossain⁶, Md Tajuddin Sikder³, David Gozal⁷, Mohammad Muhit^{8

9}, S M Shariful Islam¹⁰, Mark D Griffiths¹¹, Amir H Pakpour¹², Mohammed A Mamun^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Undergraduate Research Organization, Gerua Road, Savar, Dhaka 1342 Bangladesh.
² Department of Microbiology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh.
³ Department of Public Health & Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka Bangladesh.
⁴ Division of Diabetes, Department of Internal Medicine, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Aichi Japan.
⁵ Department of Economics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj, Bangladesh.
⁶ Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology of Bangladesh, Savar, Dhaka Bangladesh.
⁷ Department of Child Health and the Child Health Research Institute, The University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO USA.
⁸ Asian Institute of Disability and Development, University of South Asia, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁹ CSF Global, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
¹⁰ Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
¹¹ International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, 50 Shakespeare Street, Nottingham, NG1 4FQ UK.
¹² Department of Nursing, School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden.

Abstract

The recently developed Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a seven-item uni-dimensional scale that assesses the severity of fears of COVID-19. Given the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh, we aimed to translate and validate the FCV-19S in Bangla. The forward-backward translation method was used to translate the English version of the questionnaire into Bangla. The reliability and validity properties of the Bangla FCV-19S were rigorously psychometrically evaluated (utilizing both confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis) in relation to socio-demographic variables, national lockdown variables, and response to the Bangla Health Patient Questionnaire. The sample comprised 8550 Bangladeshi participants. The Cronbach α value for the Bangla FCV-19S was 0.871 indicating very good internal reliability. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the uni-dimensional factor structure of the FCV-19S fitted well with the data. The FCV-19S was significantly correlated with the nine-item Bangla Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-90) (r = 0.406, p < 0.001). FCV-19S scores were significantly associated with higher worries concerning lockdown. Measurement invariance of the FCV-19S showed no differences with respect to age or gender. The Bangla version of FCV-19S is a valid and reliable tool with robust psychometric properties which will be useful for researchers carrying out studies among the Bangla speaking population in assessing the psychological impact of fear from COVID-19 infection during this pandemic.

Keywords: Bangladesh; COVID-19; COVID-19 fear; Coronavirus; FCV-19S Bangla; Fear of COVID-19 Scale.