Investigating the Psychometric Properties of the Covid-19 Traumatic Stress Scale (CTSS) in Iranian Society

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D Student in counseling. Department of counseling, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Taining University, Tehran

3 PhD student in Psychometrics, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Covid-19 traumatic stress scale Which examines the effects of the corona virus on various aspects of Iranian life. Method: The present study was a descriptive correlational study. The statistical population included all adults in Tehran in the age range of 17 to 72 years. 461 people participated in the study through an online call. To analyze the data, Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory were used and statistical software Spss version 26 and R software version 4.0.1 were used. Results: The results of the instrument validity study using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (classical theory) and multidimensional models (Item Response Theory) confirmed three factors related to the Covid-19 traumatic stress Scale. convergent and divergent validity of the instrument was also confirmed. The validity of the scale was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha method (alpha values above 0.70 for all three factors and the total score) and the retest method (high intra-class correlation between the two measurement steps) in the classical approach of the test. Based Item Response Theory, the validity of the data was assessed using the Information function and measurement error. The Information function showed that all three factors in the trait level range between 2- to 2 had the highest awareness and the least measurement error (p <0.05). Conclusion: The Covid-19 traumatic stress scale has good validity and reliability in Iranian society and can be used as a valid scientific tool to assess the effects of the Corona virus on various aspects of Iranian life.

Highlights

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American Psychological Association. (2020). Advance online publication. American Psychological Association.Stress in the time of COVID-19May. Retrieved from stress/2020/stress-in-america-covid.pdf. [link]

Ashok, V., Sadguru, P. (2020).  Impact of COVID-19 on Environment and Society. Review Paper. Journal of Global Bioscience, 9(5):7352-7363. [link]

Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological effects of quarantine and how to reduce it. Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227): 912–918. [link]

Cascella, M., Rajnik, M., Cuomo, A., Dulebohn, S.C., Di Napoli, R. )2020.( Features, evaluation and treatment coronavirus (COVID-19). StatPearls, Treasure Island: StatPearls PublishingStatPearls Publishing LLC. [link]

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Ferguson, N.M., Laydon, D., Nedjati-Gilani, G., Imai, N., Ainslie, K., Baguelin, M., et al. (2020). Report 9: Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID19 mortality and healthcare demand [Internet]. [link]

Fornell, C., Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1): 39–50.  [link]

Garcia, R.) 2017). Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias. Learn Mem,24:462-71. [link]

Hawryluck, L., Gold, W. L., Robinson, S., Pogorski, S., Galea, S., & Styra, R. (2004). SARS control and psychological effectsof quarantine,
Toronto, Canada. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 10(7): 1206–1212. [link]

Holmes, E.A., O'Connor, R.C., Perry, V.H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., Ballard, C., Christensen, H., Cohen Silver, R., Everall, I., Ford, T., John, A., Kabir, T., King, K., Madan, I., Michie, S., Przybylski, AK., Shafran, R., Sweeney, A., Worthman, C.M., Yardley, L., Cowan, K., Cope, C., Hotopf, M., Bullmore, E. (2020). Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. Lancet Psychiatry,7(6):547-560. [link]

Jiang, S., Wang, C., Weiss, D.J. (2016). Sample size requirements for estimation of item parameters in the multidimensional graded response model. Front psychol,7(109): 1-10. [link]

Kira, I. A., Shuwiekh, H. A. M., Rice, K. G., Ashby, J. S., Elwakeel, S. A., Sous, M. S. F., Alhuwailah, A., Baali, S. B. A., Azdaou, C., Oliemat, E. M., & Jamil, H. J. (2020). Measuring COVID-19 as Traumatic Stress: Initial Psychometrics and Validation. JOURNAL OF LOSS AND TRAUMA. Advance online publication. 220-237 [link]

Le, DT. (2013). Applying item response theory modeling in educational research, IowaStateUniversityDigitalRepository. [link]

Malta, M., Rimoin, A.W., Strathdee, S.A. (2020). The coronavirus 2019-nCoV epidemic: is hindsight 20/20? EClinicalMedicine. 3(20):100289. [link]

Matheson, G. J. (2019). We need to talk about reliability: making better use of test-retest studies for study design and interpretation. PeerJ, 7, e6918.   [link]

Maunder, R., Hunter, J., Vincent, L., Bennett, J., Peladeau, N., Leszcz, M., Sadavoy, J., Verhaeghe, L. M., Steinberg, R., & Mazzulli, T. (2003). The immediate psychological and occupational impact of the 2003 SARS outbreak in a teaching hospital. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 168(10): 1245–1251. [link]

McKibbin, W., Fernando, R. (2020). The economic impact of COVID-19. In R. Baldwin & B. W. di Mauro (Eds.), Economics in the time of COVID-19 (pp. 45–49). CEPR Press. [link]

Morens, D.M., Fauci, A.S. (2013). Emerging infectious diseases: threats to human health and global stability. PLoS Pathog9:e1003467. [link]

Ornell, F., Schuch, J. B., Sordi, A. O., Kessler, F. H. P. (2020). “Pandemic fear” and COVID-19: Mental health burden and strategies. [link]

Peeri, N.C., Shrestha, N., Rahman, M.H., Zaki, R., Tan, Z., Bibi, S., et al. (2020). The SARS, MERS and novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemics, the newest and biggest global health threats: what lessons have we learned? Int J Epidemiol. Feb 22. pii: dyaa033. [Epub ahead of print].  [link]

Porcelli, P. (2020). Fear, anxiety, and health-related consequences after the COVID-19 epidemic. Clinical Neuropsychiatry: Journal of Treatment Evaluation, 17(2): 103–111. [link]

Reardon., S. (2015). Ebola’s mental-health wounds linger in Africa. Nature. 519:13-14. [link]

Reynolds, D. L., Garay, J. R., Deamond, S. L., Moran, M. K., Gold, W., & Styra, R. (2008). Understanding, compliance and psychological impact of the SARS quarantine experience. Epidemiology & Infection, 136: 997–1007. [link]

Shigemura, J., Ursano, R.J., Morganstein, J.C., Kurosawa, M., Benedek, D.M. (2020). Public responses to the novel 2019 coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Japan: mental health consequences and target populations. Psychiatry Clin Neuroscidoi. [link]

Shin,. L.M., Liberzon, I. (2010). The neurocircuitry of fear, stress, and anxiety disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology. 35:169-91. [link]

Tong, Z.D, Tang, A. Li KF, Li P, Wang, H.L, Yi JP, Zhang, Y.L, Yan, J.B. Potential Presymptomatic Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Zhejiang Province, China, 2020. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2020 May. 26(5):1052-1054.[link]

Tucci,V., Moukaddam, N., Meadows, J., Shah, S., Galwankar, S.C., Kapur, G.B. (2017). The forgotten plague: psychiatric manifestations of ebola, zika, and emerging infectious diseases. J Glob Infect Dis. 9(4): 151-156. [link]

Usher, K., Bhullar, N., & Jackson, D. (2020). Life in the pandemic: Social isolation and
mental health. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 29(15-16): 2756-2757. [link]

Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, CS., et al. (2020). Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (covid-19) epidemic among the general population in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 17(5):1729. [link]

Xiang, Y.T., Yang, Y., Li, W., Zhang, L., Zhang, Q., Cheung, T., et al. (2020). Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed. Lancet Psychiatry.7:228-9.  [link]

Keywords

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Advance online publication. American Psychological Association.Stress in the time of COVID-19May. Retrieved from stress/2020/stress-in-america-covid.pdf. [link]
Ashok, V., Sadguru, P. (2020).  Impact of COVID-19 on Environment and Society. Review Paper. Journal of Global Bioscience, 9(5):7352-7363. [link]
Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological effects of quarantine and how to reduce it. Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227): 912–918. [link]
Cascella, M., Rajnik, M., Cuomo, A., Dulebohn, S.C., Di Napoli, R. )2020.( Features, evaluation and treatment coronavirus (COVID-19). StatPearls, Treasure Island: StatPearls PublishingStatPearls Publishing LLC. [link]
Desclaux, A., Badji, D., Ndione, A. G., & Sow, K. (2017). Accepted monitoring or endured quarantine? Ebola contacts’ perceptions in Senegal. Social Science in Medicine.178,38–45. [link]
Ferguson, N.M., Laydon, D., Nedjati-Gilani, G., Imai, N., Ainslie, K., Baguelin, M., et al. (2020). Report 9: Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID19 mortality and healthcare demand [Internet]. [link]
Fornell, C., Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1): 39–50.  [link]
Garcia, R.) 2017). Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias. Learn Mem,24:462-71. [link]
Hawryluck, L., Gold, W. L., Robinson, S., Pogorski, S., Galea, S., & Styra, R. (2004). SARS control and psychological effectsof quarantine,
Toronto, Canada. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 10(7): 1206–1212. [link]
Holmes, E.A., O'Connor, R.C., Perry, V.H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., Ballard, C., Christensen, H., Cohen Silver, R., Everall, I., Ford, T., John, A., Kabir, T., King, K., Madan, I., Michie, S., Przybylski, AK., Shafran, R., Sweeney, A., Worthman, C.M., Yardley, L., Cowan, K., Cope, C., Hotopf, M., Bullmore, E. (2020). Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. Lancet Psychiatry,7(6):547-560. [link]
Jiang, S., Wang, C., Weiss, D.J. (2016). Sample size requirements for estimation of item parameters in the multidimensional graded response model. Front psychol,7(109): 1-10. [link]
Kira, I. A., Shuwiekh, H. A. M., Rice, K. G., Ashby, J. S., Elwakeel, S. A., Sous, M. S. F., Alhuwailah, A., Baali, S. B. A., Azdaou, C., Oliemat, E. M., & Jamil, H. J. (2020). Measuring COVID-19 as Traumatic Stress: Initial Psychometrics and Validation. JOURNAL OF LOSS AND TRAUMA. Advance online publication. 220-237 [link]
Le, DT. (2013). Applying item response theory modeling in educational research, IowaStateUniversityDigitalRepository. [link]
Malta, M., Rimoin, A.W., Strathdee, S.A. (2020). The coronavirus 2019-nCoV epidemic: is hindsight 20/20? EClinicalMedicine. 3(20):100289. [link]
Matheson, G. J. (2019). We need to talk about reliability: making better use of test-retest studies for study design and interpretation. PeerJ, 7, e6918.   [link]
Maunder, R., Hunter, J., Vincent, L., Bennett, J., Peladeau, N., Leszcz, M., Sadavoy, J., Verhaeghe, L. M., Steinberg, R., & Mazzulli, T. (2003). The immediate psychological and occupational impact of the 2003 SARS outbreak in a teaching hospital. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 168(10): 1245–1251. [link]
McKibbin, W., Fernando, R. (2020). The economic impact of COVID-19. In R. Baldwin & B. W. di Mauro (Eds.), Economics in the time of COVID-19 (pp. 45–49). CEPR Press. [link]
Morens, D.M., Fauci, A.S. (2013). Emerging infectious diseases: threats to human health and global stability. PLoS Pathog9:e1003467. [link]
Ornell, F., Schuch, J. B., Sordi, A. O., Kessler, F. H. P. (2020). “Pandemic fear” and COVID-19: Mental health burden and strategies. [link]
Peeri, N.C., Shrestha, N., Rahman, M.H., Zaki, R., Tan, Z., Bibi, S., et al. (2020). The SARS, MERS and novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemics, the newest and biggest global health threats: what lessons have we learned? Int J Epidemiol. Feb 22. pii: dyaa033. [Epub ahead of print].  [link]
Porcelli, P. (2020). Fear, anxiety, and health-related consequences after the COVID-19 epidemic. Clinical Neuropsychiatry: Journal of Treatment Evaluation, 17(2): 103–111. [link]
Reardon., S. (2015). Ebola’s mental-health wounds linger in Africa. Nature. 519:13-14. [link]
Reynolds, D. L., Garay, J. R., Deamond, S. L., Moran, M. K., Gold, W., & Styra, R. (2008). Understanding, compliance and psychological impact of the SARS quarantine experience. Epidemiology & Infection, 136: 997–1007. [link]
Shigemura, J., Ursano, R.J., Morganstein, J.C., Kurosawa, M., Benedek, D.M. (2020). Public responses to the novel 2019 coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Japan: mental health consequences and target populations. Psychiatry Clin Neuroscidoi. [link]
Shin,. L.M., Liberzon, I. (2010). The neurocircuitry of fear, stress, and anxiety disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology. 35:169-91. [link]
Tong, Z.D, Tang, A. Li KF, Li P, Wang, H.L, Yi JP, Zhang, Y.L, Yan, J.B. Potential Presymptomatic Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Zhejiang Province, China, 2020. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2020 May. 26(5):1052-1054.[link]
Tucci,V., Moukaddam, N., Meadows, J., Shah, S., Galwankar, S.C., Kapur, G.B. (2017). The forgotten plague: psychiatric manifestations of ebola, zika, and emerging infectious diseases. J Glob Infect Dis. 9(4): 151-156. [link]
Usher, K., Bhullar, N., & Jackson, D. (2020). Life in the pandemic: Social isolation and
mental health. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 29(15-16): 2756-2757. [link]
Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, CS., et al. (2020). Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (covid-19) epidemic among the general population in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 17(5):1729. [link]
Xiang, Y.T., Yang, Y., Li, W., Zhang, L., Zhang, Q., Cheung, T., et al. (2020). Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed. Lancet Psychiatry.7:228-9.  [link]

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