Adaptation and initial psychometric study of the anxiety and fear of COVID-19 scale in the United Kingdom population

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was the initial psychometric study to validate the anxiety and fear of COVID-19 (AMICO) assessment scale in the general population of the United Kingdom population. Materials and methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, psychometric validation and descriptive study was conducted, performing univariate and bivariate analyses, as well as exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The sample was 658 people living in the United Kingdom over 16 years. Of the total, 80.5% were female, with a mean age of 48.25 years (SD = 14.861). A mean score for the AMICO scale of 4.85 (SD = 2.398) was obtained, with a range of scores from 1 to 10. The study of percentiles and quartiles allowed for the identification of three proposed levels of anxiety. Conclusion: The AMICO_UK scale is reliable to measure the presence of anxiety and fear related to the COVID-19 disease in the United Kingdom population. The majority of the United Kingdom population presented low levels of anxiety and fear at the time the scale was administered.