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The Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 scale: Reliability, validity, and relation to coping behavior

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  • Koubun Wakashima
  • Keigo Asai
  • Daisuke Kobayashi
  • Kohei Koiwa
  • Saeko Kamoshida
  • Mayumi Sakuraba

Abstract

COVID-19 is spreading worldwide, causing various social problems. The aim of the present study was to verify the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and to ascertain FCV-19S effects on assessment of Japanese people's coping behavior. After back-translation of the scale, 450 Japanese participants were recruited from a crowdsourcing platform. These participants responded to the Japanese FCV-19S, the Japanese versions of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and the Japanese versions of the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease (PVD), which assesses coping behaviors such as stockpiling and health monitoring, reasons for coping behaviors, and socio-demographic variables. Results indicated the factor structure of the Japanese FCV-19S as including seven items and one factor that were equivalent to those of the original FCV-19S. The scale showed adequate internal reliability (α = .87; ω = .92) and concurrent validity, as indicated by significantly positive correlations with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; anxiety, r = .56; depression, r = .29) and Perceived Vulnerability to Disease (PVD; perceived infectability, r = .32; germ aversion, r = .29). Additionally, the FCV-19S not only directly increased all coping behaviors (β = .21 - .36); it also indirectly increased stockpiling through conformity reason (indirect effect, β = .04; total effect, β = .31). These results suggest that the Japanese FCV-19S psychometric scale has equal reliability and validity to those of the original FCV-19S. These findings will contribute further to the investigation of various difficulties arising from fear about COVID-19 in Japan.

Suggested Citation

  • Koubun Wakashima & Keigo Asai & Daisuke Kobayashi & Kohei Koiwa & Saeko Kamoshida & Mayumi Sakuraba, 2020. "The Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 scale: Reliability, validity, and relation to coping behavior," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-14, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0241958
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241958
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    1. María Elena Gutiérrez-Hernández & Luisa Fernanda Fanjul Rodríguez & Alicia Díaz Megolla & Cristián Oyanadel & Wenceslao Peñate Castro, 2022. "Analysis of the Predictive Role of Self-Compassion on Emotional Distress during COVID-19 Lockdown," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Preeda Sansakorn & Iqra Mushtaque & Muhammad Awais-E-Yazdan & Muhammad Khyzer Bin Dost, 2024. "The Relationship between Cyberchondria and Health Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Health Literacy among the Pakistani Public," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(9), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Rio Sasaki & Atsuhiko Ota & Hiroshi Yatsuya & Takahiro Tabuchi, 2022. "Gender Difference in Fear and Anxiety about and Perceived Susceptibility to COVID-19 in the Third Wave of Pandemic among the Japanese General Population: A Nationwide Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Jelena Tepavčević & Ivana Blešić & Marko D. Petrović & Svetlana Vukosav & Milan Bradić & Vuk Garača & Tamara Gajić & Dobrila Lukić, 2021. "Personality Traits That Affect Travel Intentions during Pandemic COVID-19: The Case Study of Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    5. José Magano & Diogo Guedes Vidal & Hélder Fernando Pedrosa e Sousa & Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis & Ângela Leite, 2021. "Validation and Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese Version of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Associations with Travel, Tourism and Hospitality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-12, January.
    6. Hiromitsu Miyata & Kaho Yamasaki & Noh ChaeEun & Haruyuki Ishikawa, 2023. "Relationship between COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Life Behavior, Dispositional Mindfulness, and Psychological Health: Evidence from a Sample of Japanese Working Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-17, May.
    7. María Elena Gutiérrez-Hernández & Luisa Fernanda Fanjul & Alicia Díaz-Megolla & Pablo Reyes-Hurtado & Jonay Francisco Herrera-Rodríguez & María del Pilar Enjuto-Castellanos & Wenceslao Peñate, 2021. "COVID-19 Lockdown and Mental Health in a Sample Population in Spain: The Role of Self-Compassion," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-14, February.
    8. Begoña Espejo & Irene Checa, 2021. "The Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in Spain: Adaptation and Confirmatory Evidence of Construct and Concurrent Validity," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(19), pages 1-11, October.

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