AUTHOR=Lee Sangha , Lee Jihoon , Yoo Soyoung , Suh Sooyeon , Chung Seockhoon , Lee Sherman A. 

TITLE=The Psychometric Properties of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 Items: A Test in the U.S. General Population

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.746244

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2021.746244

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> Many individuals around the world are suffering from psychological distress due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The aim of this study is to explore the validity and reliability of the English version of Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 (SAVE-6), which measures the anxiety response of the general population to the viral epidemic.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A cross-sectional web-based study with self-reporting measures was conducted. A total of 314 United States residents were recruited via online platform in exchange for payment. The participants were asked to an anonymous questionnaire, collecting information on demographics, psychiatric history, SAVE-6, Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The result from confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrated that a single-factor model [<inline-formula><mml:math id="M1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>χ</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mn>9</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math></inline-formula> = 11.53, <italic>p</italic> = 0.24] yielded excellent fit for all of indices [χ<sup>2</sup>/df ratio = 1.28; CFI = 1.00; TLI = 1.00; SRMR = 0.02; RMSEA = 0.03 (0.00, 0.07; 90% CI)] and yielded strong internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.88). The results from multigroup CFAs showed that there were no gender differences [<inline-formula><mml:math id="M2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mo>Δ</mml:mo><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>χ</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mn>6</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math></inline-formula> = 3.20, <italic>p</italic> = 0.78, ns] and no race differences [<inline-formula><mml:math id="M3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mo>Δ</mml:mo><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>χ</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mn>6</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup><mml:mo>=</mml:mo></mml:math></inline-formula>3.60, <italic>p</italic> = 0.73, ns] between the models, along with excellent model fits.</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> The results of this study support the reliability and validity of SAVE-6 with strong psychometric properties for the English version of the U.S. population.</p>