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

Sangha Lee; Jihoon Lee; Soyoung Yoo; Sooyeon Suh; Seockhoon Chung; Sherman A Lee

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.746244

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

Front Psychiatry. 2021 Oct 6:12:746244. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.746244. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Sangha Lee¹, Jihoon Lee², Soyoung Yoo³, Sooyeon Suh⁴, Seockhoon Chung², Sherman A Lee⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Ajou University Medical Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea.
² Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
³ Department of Convergence Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Sungshin Women's University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA, United States.

Abstract

Objectives: 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. Methods: 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. Results: The result from confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrated that a single-factor model [ $χ_{(9)}^{2}$ = 11.53, p = 0.24] yielded excellent fit for all of indices [χ²/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 [ $Δ χ_{(6)}^{2}$ = 3.20, p = 0.78, ns] and no race differences [ $Δ χ_{(6)}^{2} =$ 3.60, p = 0.73, ns] between the models, along with excellent model fits. Conclusions: 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.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; psychometry; scale; stress.