Validity and reliability of the Japanese versions of the coronavirus anxiety scale for adolescents and obsession with COVID-19 scale for adolescents

PeerJ

article

Takuya Makino¹  Sohei Ide⁵  Tomoko Shiino⁷  Daiki Hiraoka¹  Saeko Ishibashi^1,10  Futoshi Suzuki¹  Shota Nishitani¹ 

[1] Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui;Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital;Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui;Department of Neuropsychiatry Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui;New Institute of SocioInfonomics, Tama University;Center for Education in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Osaka University;Division of Developmental Neuroscience, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui;Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature, Kobe Shinwa University;Japan Society for the Promotion of Science;Graduate School of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui;Faculty of Nursing Science, Tsuruga Nursing University;Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui

关键词: Anxiety;    COVID-19;    Adolescent;    Obsessive thought;    Questionnaire;    Japanese;    Reliability;    Validity;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.15710

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused mental health issues in both adults and adolescents. The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and Obsession with COVID-19 Scale (OCS) questionnaires measure anxiety and persistent and disturbed thoughts (also known as obsessions) related to COVID-19. We developed Japanese versions of the CAS (i.e., CAS-JA) and OCS (i.e., OCS-JA) questionnaires to make them suitable for adolescents and validated the characteristics of these scales.MethodsTwo online surveys were administered to high school students aged 15–18 years. A total of 263 students participated in the first survey and almost half of them participated in the second survey. In the first survey, participants responded to the CAS-JA, OCS-JA, generalized anxiety and obsessive–compulsive subscales of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS), and Kessler 6 Scale (K6). The SCAS and K6 were used to verify discriminant validity and inter-scale correlations. In the second survey, the participants completed the CAS-JA and OCS-JA again to verify test–retest reliability. We performed a confirmatory factor analysis and calculated the model fit indices. Additionally, we examined the internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and inter-item correlations of the CAS-JA and OCS-JA. Moreover, differences in CAS-JA and OCS-JA responses by gender and region of residence (state of emergency and non-emergency areas) were examined.ResultsThe results of the single-factor model confirmatory factor analysis of model fit indices were above the threshold. The required criteria for internal consistency reliability, test–retest reliability, and discriminant and convergent validity were met in both the CAS-JA and OCS-JA. No statistically significant differences attributed to residence and gender were found in both questionnaires.ConclusionsThe results indicate that the CAS-JA and OCS-JA questionnaires are useful in measuring COVID-19-related anxiety, and persistent and disturbed thoughts in Japanese adolescents.

【 授权许可】

CC BY