COVID-19, stress, psychometric properties, Malaysia
Abstract
The COVID Stress Scales (CSS) were used to assess distress related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In line with Malaysia's epidemic prevention and control policies during the pandemic, a Malay version of the CSS was developed. This study validated the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the CSS in a Malaysian sample of 686 adults (431 females, 255 males; aged 18–65 years), addressing the lack of culturally specific tools to measure pandemic-related distress in Malaysia. Using rigorous translation and confirmatory factor analysis, the CSS demonstrated strong internal consistency. The results showed that a six-factor model encompassing danger, socioeconomic impact, xenophobia, contamination, traumatic stress, and compulsive checking for the Malay adaptation of the CSS was a good fit with the data. Concurrent validity was confirmed through significant correlations with established measures of COVID-19 fear, PTSD symptoms, and depression. The novelty of this research lies in providing the first comprehensive validation of the Malay CSS, ensuring its cultural relevance and accuracy for assessing COVID-19 stress within the Malaysian sociocultural context. These findings position the CSS as a reliable, multidimensional instrument with practical applications for mental health research and targeted public health interventions to address pandemic-related psychological distress in Malaysia.ReferencesAdamczyk, K., Clark, D. A., & Pradelok, J. (2021). The Polish COVID Stress Scales: Considerations of psychometric functioning, measurement invariance, and validity. PloS One, 16(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260459Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C. Y., Imani, V., Saffari, M., Griffiths, M. D., & Pakpour, A. H. (2020). The fear of COVID-19 scale: Development and initial validation. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 1537–1545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8American Psychiatric Association. 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