Validity of a scale of Latin American perception of fear and concern transmitted by the media during the pandemic (MED-LAT-COVID-19).

Introduction: The pandemic has caused fear, especially due to the daily disseminated news; however, there is not an instrument to measure this fear in multiple realities. Objective: To validate a scale for Latin American perception of fear and concern transmitted by the media during the pandemic. Methodology: This is an instrumental study. The survey was based on an instrument which was pre-validated in Peru and submitted to 15 experts in almost 10 countries. Subsequently, thousands of people were surveyed in 13 Latin American countries, whose answers were used for descriptive statistics for validation. Results: Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) generated two re-specifications, where four items were eliminated from the original scale. With these changes, the global goodness of fit (absolute and incremental) were satisfactory (CFI = 0.978; TLI = 0.964; GFI = 0.976; AGFI = 0.949; RMSEA = 0.075 and RMR = 0.029). The first factor measures the media exaggeration (three questions); the second, the fear transmitted by the media (three questions); and the third, the fear transmitted by others different from the media (two questions). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was higher than 0.70 for the scale and its factors. Conclusion: The MED-LAT-COVID-19 scale reported a good adjustment. It has eight items in three factors, which could be measured in an isolated way, or along with other tests that assess mental health in the current pandemic context.

Revalidation of an ultra-short scale for the measurement of perceived job security in Latin America. / Revalidación de escala ultracorta para la medición de la seguridad percibida para conservar el trabajo en Latinoamérica.

Introduction: Due to the measures imposed by governments to reduce the spread of this new virus, the economic sector was one of the most affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several labor sectors had to undergo a virtual adaptation process resulting in job instability and job loss. The objective of this study was to revalidate an ultra-short scale for measuring perceived job security in Latin America. Methods: A revalidation study was done on a short scale that measures worker's perceived security about losing or keeping their job in the near future. Results: The four items remained on the revalidated scale, where all four explained a single factor. The goodness-of-fit measures confirmed the single-factor model (χ: 7.06; df: 2; p = 0.29; mean square error: 0.015; goodness-of-fit index: 0.998; adjusted goodness-of-fit index: 0.991; comparative fit index: 0.999; Tucker-Lewis index: 0.997; normalized fit index: 0.998; incremental fit index: 0.999; and root mean square error of approximation: 0.036). The scale's reliability was calculated using McDonald's omega coefficient, obtaining an overall result of ω = 0.72. Conclusions: The scale was correctly revalidated in Latin America, and the four items were kept in a single reliable factor.

Introducción: El sector económico fue uno de los más afectados durante la pandemia de COVID-19, debido a las medidas impuestas por los gobiernos para reducir la propagación de este nuevo virus. En consecuencia, varios sectores laborales tuvieron que pasar por un proceso de adaptación virtual, resultando en la inestabilidad o pérdida de empleos. El objetivo fue revalidar una escala ultra corta para la medición de la seguridad percibida para conservar el trabajo en Latinoamérica. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio de validación de una escala corta que mide la seguridad percibida por el trabajador acerca de poder perder o mantener su trabajo en un corto tiempo. Resultados: Los cuatro ítems se mantuvieron en la escala revalidada, también estuvieron en un único factor. Los índices de bondad de ajuste confirmaron dicho factor único: χ2: 7,06; df: 2; p = 0,29; junto a los índices de error de cuadrático medio: 0,015; de bondad de ajuste: 0,998; ajustado de bondad de ajuste: 0,991; de ajuste comparativo: 0,999; de Tucker-Lewis: 0,997; de ajuste normalizado: 0,998; de ajuste incremental: 0,999 y el error cuadrático medio de aproximación: 0,036. En todo momento se mostró un ajuste adecuado. Posterior a eso se midió la confiabilidad, la cual se calculó con el coeficiente de Ω de McDonald, obteniendo un resultado de 0,72.

Revalidación de escala ultracorta para la medición de la seguridad percibida para conservar el trabajo en Latinoamérica / Revalidation of an ultra-short scale for the measurement of perceived job security in Latin America

Introducción El sector económico fue uno de los más afectados durante la pandemia de COVID-19, debido a las medidas impuestas por los gobiernos para reducir la propagación de este nuevo virus. En consecuencia, varios sectores laborales tuvieron que pasar por un proceso de adaptación virtual, resultando en la inestabilidad o pérdida de empleos. El objetivo fue revalidar una escala ultra corta para la medición de la seguridad percibida para conservar el trabajo en Latinoamérica. Métodos Se realizó un estudio de validación de una escala corta que mide la seguridad percibida por el trabajador acerca de poder perder o mantener su trabajo en un corto tiempo. Resultados Los cuatro ítems se mantuvieron en la escala revalidada, también estuvieron en un único factor. Los índices de bondad de ajuste confirmaron dicho factor único: χ2: 7,06; df: 2; p = 0,29; junto a los índices de error de cuadrático medio: 0,015; de bondad de ajuste: 0,998; ajustado de bondad de ajuste: 0,991; de ajuste comparativo: 0,999; de Tucker-Lewis: 0,997; de ajuste normalizado: 0,998; de ajuste incremental: 0,999 y el error cuadrático medio de aproximación: 0,036. En todo momento se mostró un ajuste adecuado. Posterior a eso se midió la confiabilidad, la cual se calculó con el coeficiente de Ω de McDonald, obteniendo un resultado de 0,72. Conclusiones La escala se revalidó de forma correcta en Latinoamérica y se mantuvieron los cuatro ítems en un único factor, siendo fiable.

Introduction Due to the measures imposed by governments to reduce the spread of this new virus, the economic sector was one of the most affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several labor sectors had to undergo a virtual adaptation process resulting in job instability and job loss. The objective of this study was to revalidate an ultra-short scale for measuring perceived job security in Latin America. Methods A revalidation study was done on a short scale that measures worker's perceived security about losing or keeping their job in the near future. Results The four items remained on the revalidated scale, where all four explained a single factor. The goodness-of-fit measures confirmed the single-factor model (χ: 7.06; df: 2; p = 0.29; mean square error: 0.015; goodness-of-fit index: 0.998; adjusted goodness-of-fit index: 0.991; comparative fit index: 0.999; Tucker-Lewis index: 0.997; normalized fit index: 0.998; incremental fit index: 0.999; and root mean square error of approximation: 0.036). The scale's reliability was calculated using McDonald's omega coefficient, obtaining an overall result of ω = 0.72. Conclusions The scale was correctly revalidated in Latin America, and the four items were kept in a single reliable factor.

Perceived Fatality Prior to COVID-19 Infection in 13 Latin American Countries (FAT-LAT-COVID-19): Revalidation of a Shortened Scale.

Introduction: COVID-19 has generated great repercussions for the population globally; millions of deaths have been reported worldwide. The idea of death is especially exacerbated when there are close to death experiences that remind us how close we are to fatality. This is why it is important to measure fatalistic ideas of those who have not yet been infected. Objective: To revalidate a scale that measures fatalistic perception prior to COVID-19 infection in a population of 13 Latin American countries. Methodology: We conducted an instrumental study. We used a previously validated scale in Peru, with seven items divided into two factors and with five possible Likert-type responses (from strongly disagree to strongly agree). It was administered to a large population in 13 Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America; for each of the seven questions, 886 people were surveyed. With these results, descriptive and analytical statistics were performed. Results: The mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis of the seven initial questions were adequate in most cases. In the confirmatory factor analysis, the lack of fit was improved with the indexes' modification technique, which let us delete items 1 and 6. Thus, we could obtain satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices (CFI = 0.972, TLI = 0.931, GFI = 0.990, AGFI = 0.961, RMSEA = 0.080, and RMR = 0.047). Therefore, the final two-factor structure had a fairly adequate Cronbach's α (0.72, with a 95% confidence interval = 0.70-0.73). Conclusions: The scale that measures fatalism of Latin American countries in the face of the pandemic generated by COVID-19 was revalidated and shortened.