Introduction
Study Part 1: Questionnaire validation
Methods
CoPaQ construction
Participants
Procedure
Other measures
Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21)
Revised-Green et al. Paranoid Thoughts Scale (R-GPTS)
WHO (Five) Well-Being Index (WHO-5)
Statistical analyses
Study Part 2: Research application
Methods
Matching
Measures
Assessment of group differences
Correlation analysis
Study Part 1: Questionnaire validation
Results
Descriptive statistics
Derivation sample (n = 511) | Longitudinal sample (n = 318) | Psychiatric sample (n = 113) | |
---|---|---|---|
Age, mean (SD) | 30.12 (11.15) | 30.54 (11.28) | 43.93 (14.64) |
Men sex, n | 110 | 68 | 58 |
Employment status, n (%) | |||
Full-time employed | 114 (22.3) | 73 (23.0) | 32 (28.3) |
Part-time employed | 72 (14.1) | 47 (14.8) | 15 (13.3) |
Self-employed | 16 (3.1) | 11 (3.5) | 4 (3.5) |
Student | 248 (48.5) | 157 (49.4) | 11 (9.7) |
Retired | 8 (1.6) | 4 (1.3) | 17 (15.0) |
Caregiver | 2 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
Not employed | 14 (2.7) | 8 (2.5) | 26 (23.0) |
Other | 37 (7.2) | 18 (5.7) | 8 (7.1) |
Self-reported lifetime diagnoses, n (%) | |||
Diagnostic categories | |||
Depressive Disorders | 120 (23.5) | 77 (24.2) | 93 (82.3) |
Bipolar Disorders | 5 (1.0) | 3 (0.9) | 11 (9.7) |
Psychotic Disorders | 3 (0.6) | 0 (0.0) | 17 (15.0) |
Anxiety Disorders | 62 (12.1) | 36 (11.3) | 30 (26.5) |
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | 26 (5.1) | 17 (5.3) | 18 (15.9) |
Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders | 7 (1.4) | 7 (2.2) | 6 (5.3) |
Eating Disorders | 28 (5.5) | 14 (4.4) | 17 (15.0) |
Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders | 9 (1.8) | 3 (0.9) | 31 (27.4) |
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder | 15 (2.9) | 8 (2.5) | 6 (5.3) |
Somatoform Disorders | 4 (0.8) | 2 (0.6) | 7 (6.2) |
Personality Disorders | 14 (2.7) | 7 (2.2) | 22 (19.5) |
Autism Spectrum Disorder | 4 (0.8) | 3 (0.9) | 8 (7.1) |
Dementia | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.8) |
Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses
Derivation sample | Longitudinal validation sample | Psychiatric validation sample | |
---|---|---|---|
EFA Loadings | CFA Loadings | CFA Loadings | |
COVID-19 contamination anxiety | |||
I will infect myself with COVID-19 | 0.54 | 0.54 | 0.54 |
Please indicate how likely you think it is that you will be infected with COVID-19. | 0.74 | 0.58 | 0.77 |
people close to me are infected with COVID-19. | 0.88 | 0.89 | 0.65 |
I will infect other people with COVID-19. | 0.79 | 0.72 | 0.73 |
COVID-19 hygiene measures | |||
keeping at least 1.5 m distance from other people | 0.67 | 0.67 | 0.63 |
coughing or sneezing into the crook of your arm or into a handkerchief | 0.71 | 0.52 | 0.54 |
not touching mouth, eyes or nose with hands | 0.81 | 0.80 | 0.58 |
regular washing of hands | 0.93 | 0.79 | 0.63 |
washing hands extensively (for at least 30 s) | 0.92 | 0.82 | 0.79 |
increased disinfection of hands and objects. | 0.68 | 0.65 | 0.68 |
COVID-19 social distancing | |||
cancelling private meetings and family visits | 0.82 | 0.79 | 0.76 |
cancelling trips to other cities | 0.90 | 0.85 | 0.69 |
avoiding visits to canteens and restaurants | 0.87 | 0.79 | 0.82 |
avoiding touching (e.g. shaking hands or hugging) when greeting or saying goodbye to other people | 0.78 | 0.74 | 0.47 |
moving your work to home office | 0.71 | 0.64 | 0.39 |
COVID-19 anxiety buying | |||
soap, detergent, cleaning products, washing powder, etc. | 0.88 | 0.84 | 0.89 |
food (vegetables, lentils, rice, pasta...) | 0.94 | 0.88 | 0.95 |
water (20 l per person) | 0.79 | 0.73 | 0.85 |
toilet paper | 0.84 | 0.82 | 0.92 |
cash | 0.59 | 0.53 | 0.62 |
COVID-19 political restrictions | |||
temporary closures of kindergartens, schools and universities | 0.84 | 0.80 | 0.85 |
temporary border closures | 0.74 | 0.67 | 0.71 |
temporary closures of playgrounds | 0.85 | 0.75 | 0.90 |
temporary closure of bars, pubs, theatres, cinemas, etc. | 0.87 | 0.78 | 0.72 |
temporary curfews | 0.80 | 0.76 | 0.82 |
COVID-19 solidarity-based behaviours | |||
donating blood | 0.63 | 0.70 | 0.54 |
supporting people at risk, such as shopping for them or staying at home to protect people at risk to protect people at risk | 0.86 | 0.77 | 0.88 |
supporting people who are experiencing existential hardship due to the current situation | 0.87 | 0.79 | 0.86 |
offering help to close friends and family members | 0.81 | 0.71 | 0.57 |
donating blood | 0.77 | 0.80 | 0.65 |
COVID-19 post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms | |||
have had upsetting dreams that replay part of the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic or are clearly related to it | 0.51 | 0.61 | 0.60 |
have had powerful images or memories that sometimes come into my mind in which I feel the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic is happening again in the here and now | 0.75 | 0.72 | 0.75 |
have avoided internal reminders of the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. thoughts, feeling, or physical sensations) | 0.97 | 0.82 | 0.64 |
have avoided external reminders of the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. people, places, conversations, objects, activities, or situations) | 0.92 | 0.73 | 0.79 |
have been “super-alert”, watchful, or on guard | 0.45 | 0.56 | 0.67 |
COVID-19 sleep disturbances | |||
difficulty falling asleep (< 30 min) | 1.02 | 0.82 | 0.88 |
difficulty sleeping through the night | 0.77 | 0.87 | 0.79 |
early morning awakening | 0.70 | 0.74 | 0.74 |
COVID-19 substance use | |||
have consumed substantially more alcohol than usual. | 0.68 | ||
have smoked considerably more cigarettes than usual | 0.86 | 0.61 | 0.66 |
have consumed considerably more drugs (e.g. tranquilizers, sleeping pills or stimulants) than usual | 0.63 | 0.63 | 0.61 |
have felt a strong desire to consume addictive substances (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs) | 0.87 | 0.90 | 0.84 |
have not been able to control my use of addictive substances (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs) | 0.90 | 0.58 | 0.50 |
COVID-19 daytime structure | |||
have maintained a regular daily routine | 0.90 | 0.81 | 0.76 |
have planned the day as detailed as possible | 0.80 | 0.79 | 0.95 |
have integrated sports and exercise into my daily life | 0.39 | 0.55 | 0.58 |
COVID-19 social contacts | |||
have maintained my social contacts (telephone, visits or video chats) | 0.47 | 0.68 | 0.65 |
have enjoyed the time together with people close to me | 0.74 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
COVID-19 inner resources | |||
have sought stability in faith and/or religion | 0.45 | ||
have focused on my inner strengths, resources, abilities and talents | 0.59 | 0.87 | 0.72 |
have changed my attitudes about what is really important to me in life | 0.64 | 0.39 | 0.70 |
COVID-19 political and institutional trust | |||
have had the feeling that the political leadership was standing up for me | 0.84 | 0.81 | 0.67 |
have perceived democracy as an effective form of government | 0.85 | 0.75 | 0.77 |
have had the feeling that public institutions (e.g. police, judiciary) can be relied upon | 0.78 | 0.79 | 0.82 |
have had the feeling that news and reports on the COVID-19 pandemic are being deliberately withheld | 0.84 | 0.86 | 0.30 |
have perceived politicians as trustworthy | 0.65 | 0.61 | 0.77 |
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs | |||
have had the feeling that false reports or untruths about the COVID-19 pandemic are being deliberately disseminated on public broadcasting (e.g. radio and television stations). | 0.62 | 0.49 | 0.62 |
have had the belief that there are alternative or secret explanations for current events | 0.80 | 0.89 | 0.84 |
have had the belief that there is a relation between what is happening and the production and testing of biological weapons | 0.88 | 0.72 | 0.77 |
have had the belief that what is happening here is the effect of a struggle or competition between different superpowers | 0.95 | 0.77 | 0.84 |
have had the belief that this infection serves to deliberately reduce the world population, since there are no longer enough resources for everyone | 0.85 | 0.64 | 0.88 |
COVID-19 social cohesion | |||
there is greater solidarity and cohesion in our society. | 0.84 | 0.79 | |
I am an integral part of our society or community. | 0.61 | 0.61 | |
our nation is growing closer together. | 0.93 | 0.79 |
Longitudinal validation sample | Psychiatric validation samples | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Subscale | CFI | RMSEA | CFI | RMSEA |
COVID-19 contamination anxiety | 0.996 | 0.039 | 1.000 | < 0.001 |
COVID-19 hygiene measures | 0.924 | 0.069 | 1.000 | < 0.001 |
COVID-19 social distancing | 1.000 | < 0.001 | 0.979 | 0.061 |
COVID-19 anxiety buying | 0.951 | 0.081 | 0.991 | 0.056 |
COVID-19 political restrictions | 0.993 | 0.045 | 0.955 | 0.107 |
COVID-19 solidarity-based behaviours | 0.988 | 0.037 | 1.000 | < 0.001 |
COVID-19 mental health subscale | 0.938 | 0.038 | 0.994 | 0.011 |
COVID-19 positive coping | 0.979 | 0.049 | 0.965 | 0.066 |
COVID-19 institutional & political trust | 0.931 | 0.138 | 0.997 | 0.027 |
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs | 0.924 | 0.069 | 0.880 | 0.119 |
COVID-19 social cohesion | 1.000 | < 0.001 | n.a. | n.a. |
Derivation sample | Longitudinal validation sample | Psychiatric validation sample | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subscale | ω | α | ω | α | ω | α |
COVID-19 contamination anxiety | 0.79 | 0.78 | 0.79 | 0.77 | 0.77 | 0.77 |
COVID-19 hygiene measures | 0.83 | 0.83 | 0.86 | 0.84 | 0.81 | 0.81 |
COVID-19 social distancing | 0.88 | 0.87 | 0.87 | 0.87 | 0.76 | 0.75 |
COVID-19 anxiety buying | 0.86 | 0.85 | 0.88 | 0.87 | 0.93 | 0.92 |
COVID-19 political restrictions | 0.88 | 0.88 | 0.86 | 0.86 | 0.90 | 0.90 |
COVID-19 solidarity-based behaviours | 0.82 | 0.82 | 0.87 | 0.86 | 0.81 | 0.81 |
COVID-19 countermeasure compliance | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
COVID-19 PTSD symptoms | 0.78 | 0.78 | 0.83 | 0.81 | 0.82 | 0.82 |
COVID-19 sleep disturbance | 0.83 | 0.81 | 0.87 | 0.85 | 0.85 | 0.84 |
COVID-19 substance abuse | 0.77 | 0.75 | 0.80 | 0.77 | 0.76 | 0.74 |
COVID-19-specific stressor impact | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
COVID-19 daytime structure | 0.72 | 0.69 | 0.76 | 0.75 | 0.80 | 0.79 |
COVID-19 social contacts | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
COVID-19 inner strength | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
COVID-19 institutional & political trust | 0.87 | 0.86 | 0.88 | 0.88 | 0.81 | 0.79 |
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs | 0.82 | 0.82 | 0.79 | 0.78 | 0.90 | 0.89 |
COVID-19 social cohesion | 0.80 | 0.79 | 0.77 | 0.76 | n.a. | n.a. |
Study populations characteristics
COVID-19 contamination anxiety
COVID-19 necessity of and compliance with countermeasures
COVID-19 mental health impact
COVID-19-specific stressors impact
COVID-19 positive coping
COVID-19 institutional & political trust
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs
COVID-19 social cohesion
Omitted subscales
Internal consistency
Construct and criterion validity
CoPaQ subscales | DASS-21 Total | WHO-5 Total | R-GPTS Total |
---|---|---|---|
COVID-19-specific stressor impact | .49** | −.41** | .34** |
COVID-19 mental health impact | |||
PTSD symptoms | .42** | −.32** | .34** |
Sleep disturbance | .47** | −.37** | .30** |
Substance abuse | .29** | −.26** | .12** |
COVID-19 positive coping | |||
Daytime structure | −.19** | .33** | −.05 |
Social contacts | −.33** | .40** | −16** |
Inner strength | −.18** | .32** | .04 |
COVID-19 institutional & political trust | −.11* | .14** | −.13** |
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs | .14** | −.05 | .30** |
COVID-19 PTSD symptoms | COVID-19 sleep disturbance | COVID-19 substance use | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | Mean (SD) | t | Mean (SD) | t | Mean (SD) | t | |
Mental Health Diagnosis | |||||||
No | 340 | 2.85 (3.51) | −2.20* | 2.66 (3.37) | −4.54*** | 0.82 (1.90) | −3.30** |
Yes | 171 | 3.71 (4.46) | 4.16 (3.59) | 1.71 (3.27) |
Study Part 2: Research application
Results
Assessment of group differences
Clinical sample | Non-clinical sample | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subscales | Mean (SD) | range | Mean (SD) | range | p | SMD | 95% CIbootstrapped |
DASS-21 | |||||||
General anxiety | 12.02 (9.98) | 0–40 | 6.58 (6.88) | 0–28 | < 0.001*** | −0.605 | − 0.83, − 0.38 |
R-GPTS | |||||||
Paranoia | 10.04 (13.10) | 0–61 | 9.96 (9.57) | 0–47 | 0.958 | −0.007 | − 0.25, 0.28 |
CoPaQ | |||||||
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs | 3.49 (4.76) | 0–19 | 3.50 (4.10) | 0–16 | 0.976 | 0.004 | −0.25, 0.28 |
COVID-19 institutional & political trust | 11.43 (4.88) | 0–20 | 10.88 (6.20) | 0–20 | 0.461 | −0.098 | −0.36, 0.16 |
COVID-19 physical health risk factors | 0.98 (1.17) | 0–5 | 0.62 (1.19) | 0–7 | 0.022* | −0.304 | −0.59, − 0.04 |
COVID-19 contamination anxiety | 5.93 (3.46) | 0–16 | 6.61 (3.94) | 0–16 | 0.169 | 0.183 | −0.07, 0.44 |
Correlational analysis
Clinical sample | Non-clinical sample | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Perception of necessity of | Perception of necessity of | |||||||
Subscales | Hygiene measures | Social distancing | Political restrictions | Compliance | Hygiene measures | Social distancing | Political restrictions | Compliance |
General anxiety | .14 | .12 | .31** | .15 | .09 | .06 | .07 | −.07 |
Paranoia | −.11 | −.03 | .05 | −.01 | −.09 | −.02 | .07 | −.15 |
Institutional & political trust | .16 | .19* | .20* | .23* | .64** | .60** | .61** | .53** |
Contamination anxiety | .34** | .36** | .29** | .19* | .36** | .48** | .36** | .38** |
Physical health risk factors | .07 | .07 | .06 | .10 | .02 | −.12 | −.18 | −.08 |
Conspiracy beliefs | −.07 | −.10 | −.06 | −.14 | −.30** | −.40** | −.37** | −.30** |