Applicability and Psychometric Comparison of the General-Population Viral Anxiety Rating Scales among Healthcare Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

We aimed to explore the reliability and validity of viral anxiety rating scales (developed for the general population) among healthcare workers. In addition, we compared the psychometric properties of rating scales in accordance with the Generalized Anxiety Scale-7 items (GAD-7) during this COVID-19 pandemic. The viral anxiety of 330 healthcare workers was measured with Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 items (SAVE-9), SAVE-6, Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), and COVID-19 Anxiety Scale (CAS-7). Factor analyses, item response theory, and Rasch model analyses were conducted to confirm the construct validities of the scales and compare the psychometric properties of rating scales. The receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis examined the cutoff scores of rating scales in accordance with a mild degree of generalized anxiety. The SAVE-9, SAVE-6, CAS, FCV-19S, and CAS-7 scales showed good reliability of internal consistency among healthcare workers. Their construct validity and convergent validity of each scale were similarly good. Furthermore, in comparing the psychometric properties of rating scales, we observed that the CAS scale was the most discriminating and difficult among the scales. The CAS and FCV-19S provided more information and were more efficient than the SAVE-9, SAVE-6, and CAS-7 scales when they were used to measure healthcare workers' viral anxiety. Viral anxiety rating scales can be applied to healthcare workers with good reliability and validity.

Viral Anxiety Mediates the Influence of Intolerance of Uncertainty on Adherence to Physical Distancing Among Healthcare Workers in COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: The aims of this study were to examine the mediation effect of viral anxiety of healthcare workers on the influence of their intolerance of uncertainty on the adherence to physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online survey was conducted among 329 healthcare workers (female: 81.4%, nursing professionals: 59.0%, and shift workers: 22.3%) on November 29, 2021. Participants responded to questionnaires on adherence to physical distancing, health beliefs, and perceived social norms, and rating scales of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9), and the Intolerance of Uncertainty-12 items (IUS-12) scale. Results: Adherence to physical distancing of healthcare workers was predicted by perceived benefits of physical distancing (ß = 0.13, p = 0.01), personal injunctive norms (ß = 0.32, p < 0.001), SAVE-6 score (ß = 0.13, p = 0.02), and IUS-12 score (ß = 0.10, p = 0.045) (adjusted R2 = 0.21, F = 22.3, p < 0.001). Viral anxiety mediated the association between intolerance of uncertainty and adherence to physical distancing but not the influence of perceived benefits and personal injunctive norms on adherence to physical distancing. Conclusion: We observed that viral anxiety of healthcare workers mediated the association between intolerance of uncertainty and adherence to physical distancing. During this pandemic, exploring adherence to physical distancing and its predicting factors will be helpful for the safety of healthcare workers and the patients for whom they care.

COVID-19 anxiety scale (CAS): Development and psychometric properties.

The objective of the present research is to develop and validate the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale (CAS). We conducted three studies to gather evidence regarding content and construct validity, as well to evaluate the reliability of the measure. Study 1 is subdivided into two studies. In Study 1a, we analyze the content validity of the new measure through content expert analysis (N = 10 expert raters). In Study 1b (N = 30), we perform a pilot study with a sample from the target population. In Study 2 (N = 352), we explored the unifactorial structure of the measure, and analyzed its internal consistency verified. Finally, in Study 3 (N = 200), we assess the adequacy of the factor structure and gather evidence on convergent-discriminant validity and gender-scale invariance. In summary, our results demonstrate that CAS is a reliable and adequate instrument to assess COVID-19 related anxiety.

REPRESENTAÇÕES SOCIAIS DO TRÂNSITO PARA MOTORISTAS / SOCIAL REPRESENTATION OF TRAFFIC FOR DRIVERS / REPRESENTACIONES SOCIALES SOBRE TRÁNSITO PARA LOS CONDUCTORES

Este estudo analisou as representações sociais do trânsito para motoristas brasileiros. Participaram 110 pessoas, com idades entre 19 e 62 anos (M = 27,9; DP = 9,44), de diferentes regiões do Brasil. Os sujeitos responderam a um questionário sociodemográfico e um teste de associação livre de palavras (TALP) com os estímulos indutores "motociclistas", "pedestres" e "engarrafamento". Os resultados demonstraram que os motoristas, em sua maior parte, representam o trânsito brasileiro de modo pessimista e negativo. A palavra "estresse" foi a mais utilizada para representar o "engarrafamento". Os dados são discutidos à luz da psicologia social e do trânsito.

This study aimed to investigate the social representation of traffic for Brazilian drivers. The sample was 110 people, aged between 19 and 62 years old (M = 27.9, SD = 9.44), living in different regions from Brazil. A word association test (WAT) was performed with three stimulus inductors, "motorcyclists", "pedestrians" and "traffic jam". The results showed that drivers, for the most part, represent Brazilian traffic in a pessimistic and negative way. In this sense, the word "stress" was used as more frequent to stimulus "traffic jam". The findings are discussed in the light of social and traffic psychology.

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar las representaciones sociales del tráfico brasileño para los motoristas. Participaron en el estudio un total de 110 personas, de 19 a 62 años (M = 27.9; SD = 9.44), de diferentes regiones de Brasil. Los participantes respondieron un cuestionario sociodemográfico y una prueba de asociación de palabras (PAP) con los estímulos inductores "motocicleta", "peatón" y "embotellamiento". Los resultados mostraron que los conductores, en su mayor parte, representan el tráfico brasileño de una manera pesimista y negativa. Por ejemplo, la palabra "estrés" se usó como más frecuente para el estímulo "embotellamiento". Los hallazgos se discuten a la luz de la psicología social y del tráfico.

Anxiety associated with COVID-19 and concerns about death: Impacts on psychological well-being.

Situations of public calamity, such as that caused by COVID-19 pandemic, strongly impact mental health, especially among people who feel most anxious about the imminence of death, as highlighted by the Terror Management Theory. In this research, we investigated how and under which conditions concerns about death itself and anxiety are related to psychological well-being. Specifically, we assessed the role of fear caused by the prominence of death (contextual and dispositional) in anxiety and well-being during the pandemic. Participants were 352 Brazilians, who answered a measurement of fear of death and read a news story about COVID-19. The manipulated news brought the idea of death to prominence (vs. non-prominence). After reading the news, the participants answered scales of anxiety and psychological well-being. The results showed that individual differences in fear of death related to well-being, and that this relationship was mediated by anxiety in face of COVID-19. Contrastingly, the manipulation of the salience of death in the news did not affect this relationship. These results contribute to the understanding of a psychological process related with fluctuations in individuals' well-being during the pandemic, offering insights for future studies that can promote better coping conditions during this period of world crisis.