Psychometric Properties of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in a Palestinian Context

Abstract

In thecurrent study the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), a newly emerginginternationally standardized measure of anxiety related to being exposed to orcontracting COVID-19, was translated and validated for a Palestinian context toinsure that it can be used as a measure of COVID-19 fear and to begin toidentify factors that affect this phenomenon including gender (with femaleshaving more fear than males), education (individuals without college degreedemonstrating higher levels of fear) and smoking status (with smokersdemonstrating higher levels of fear than non-smokers). The scale demonstratedhigh level of validity and reliability in a Palestinian context and thereforcan be considered for future studies as the COVID-19 pandemic persists. Furtherinvestigations using the Arabic Language of FCV-19S may have far reachingimplications for measuring and combating the fear of COVID-19 at a personal andsocietal level for uniquely at risk populations such as in the occupiedterritories of Palestine.