Adaptation and psychometric evaluation of Hungarian version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale

Background
COVID-19 pandemic has had a global major healthcare, social and economic impact. In present study we aim to adapt the Fear of COVID-19 Scale to Hungarian.

Materials and methods
Forward-backward translation method was used to translate the English version of the scale to Hungarian. Participants were a convenience sample of 2175 university students and employees. The study was conducted between January 18th and February 12th 2021. The test battery included Hungarian versions of Fear of COVID-19 scale, short Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-H) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

Results
The scale showed one-factor structure, the loadings on the factor were significant and strong (from .47 to .84). Internal consistency was very good (α = .84). Construct validity for the Fear of COVID-19 Scale was supported by significant and positive correlations with STAI (r = 0.402; p < 0.001) and BDI-H (r = 0.270; p < 0.001).

Conclusion
The Hungarian version of Fear of COVID-19 Scale is a reliable and valid tool in assessing fear of coronavirus.