Pandemic Disease Anxiety Scale - development and validation of a 17-Item self-reported scale.

Abstract

Introduction and objective: The aim of the study was to develop and validate a questionnaire designed to assess the severity of fears in relation to the risk of infectious diseases. The scale was developed for use in a study of individuals facing the challenges of the ongoing pandemic. The global spread of infectious diseases has resulted in widespread concerns and anxiety among individuals worldwide. The present study developed the Pandemic Disease Anxiety Scale (PDAS-17) to provide additional support to clinical efforts in diagnosing the fears and anticipated problems of individuals in a pandemic situation. This will enable the implementation of effective preventive and therapeutic measures.

Material and methods: The study included 775 respondents. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to analyse the psychometric properties of the test. The EFA was performed using SPSS software with Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) and promax rotation.

Results: The scale demonstrates robust psychometric properties and is an effective tool for assessing the specificity and severity of fears associated with pandemic threats and traumatic events. The factor loadings for the latent variables demonstrate a robust correlation between the observed items and their corresponding latent constructs. All factor loadings are statistically significant (p < 0.001), indicating that the items effectively measure their intended constructs.

Conclusions: The Pandemic Disease Anxiety Scale effectively measures multiple dimensions of fear related to the pandemic. The strong factor loadings, significant covariances, and adequate variability in item responses, all contribute to the robustness of the questionnaire. These findings validate the use of this tool for assessing pandemic disease in various contexts.