The validation of the Arabic version of the Coronavirus‐2019 Phobia Scale (C19P‐SA) and individual differences in coronaphobia experiences among an Arabic population

Alnaddaf, Abdelsalam; BaloÄŸlu, Mustafa

The current study adapted the Coronavirus 19 Phobia Scale into Arabic and tested the psychometric properties of the adapted version on 469 Arabic‐speaking individuals (mean age = 29.57 years old; SD = 10.39; range = 9–71 years old). After confirmatory analysis found supporting evidence for the four‐factor structure, consequent analysis on convergent and discriminant validity and reliability of the Arabic version are also supported. A 2 × 2 between‐groups factorial multivariate analysis of variance was used to investigate individual differences in coronaphobia. Results show that there is no significant interaction effect between gender and marital status, λ = 0.973, F (8,460) = 1600, p = 0.121, partial η (2) = 0. 014; however, the main effect for gender is statistically significant, λ = 0.925, F (4,464) = 9.367, p < 0.001, partial η (2) = 0.075, power = 1.000, where women score higher than men on all coronaphobia factors. In addition, the main effect for marital status is also significant, λ = 0.923, F (4,464) = 4.701, p < 0.001, partial η (2) = 0.039, power = 0.998, where singles score higher than married couples on only two coronaphobia factors: Psychological and economic. Based on the findings, we conclude that the effects of coronaphobia have similarities across nations as well as differences unique to the Arabic populations.