COVID-19-related Behaviors Scale (CB-19)

Abstract

The strong>COVID-19-related Behaviors Scale (CB-19)} is a concise, 14-item self-report instrument developed to measure specific health and psychological behaviors adopted by individuals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The scale originated from an initial pool of 25 items, which were refined to 17 based on expert review for clarity and relevance. Data was collected from residents in Mashhad, Iran, during 2020.

Subsequent Factor analysis supported a two-dimensional structure. The final 14 items are divided equally between the domains of Health behavior and Psychological behavior, demonstrating reported levels of reliability and validity suitable for use in clinical and research settings focused on pandemic response.

Keywords

COVID-19-related Behaviors Scale (CB-19), Health Behavior, Psychological Behavior, Pandemic Response, Structural Validity, Internal Consistency, Mashhad.

Authors

Moshirian-Farahi, Seyed-Mohammad-Mahdi, Moshirian-Farahi, Seyedeh-Maryam, Ghazaei, Maryam.

Purpose

The primary objective of the CB-19 is to provide a quantitative measure for assessing the spectrum of behavioral responses—both preventative and psychological—exhibited by individuals concerning the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, the scale was developed and validated using an Iranian population sample from Mashhad.

Its creation was integral to a larger study initiated during the early phases of the pandemic (2020) aimed at examining the co-occurrence and prevalence rates of psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and stress, alongside specific coping behaviors.

Construct

The CB-19 is designed to measure two distinct, yet related, behavioral constructs arising from the pandemic environment. These constructs reflect the dual nature of an individual’s response to a public health crisis: managing external risks and managing internal distress.

The scale measures the two primary dimensions supported by empirical analysis: Factor 1, focused on observable strong>Health Behavior} (e.g., adherence to hygiene and social distancing guidelines), and Factor 2, focused on strong>Psychological Behavior} (e.g., coping mechanisms, emotional regulation, and stress-related actions).

Validity

The primary evidence of validity reported for the CB-19 is its Structural validity, established through Exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The successful identification of the hypothesized two-factor model provides empirical support that the scale measures the intended underlying constructs of health and psychological behaviors.

While the factor analysis results confirm a strong structural model, the initial documentation does not specify other crucial aspects of validity, such as concurrent, predictive, or discriminant validity. Further research is needed to fully establish the breadth of the scale’s measurement properties beyond its internal structure.

Reliability

The reliability of the CB-19 was primarily assessed through internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. The overall scale demonstrated acceptable reliability for a newly developed instrument, with a total score alpha of strong>.68}.

When examining the sub-factors, the reliability varied. The Psychological Behavior factor (Factor 2) showed good internal consistency (strong>.70}). However, the Health Behavior factor (Factor 1) displayed a lower alpha coefficient (strong>.56}), suggesting that the seven items comprising this factor may measure a slightly more heterogeneous set of behaviors, or that refinement of these specific items might be beneficial in future scale revisions.

Factor Analysis

An Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using the collected data to refine the item pool and determine the underlying structure of the scale. The analysis ultimately supported a clean, two-factor solution based on the final 14 items, with 7 items loading strongly onto each factor.

The resulting two factors were clearly defined as Factor 1: strong>Health-Related Behaviors} and Factor 2: strong>Psychological-Related Behaviors}. The goodness-of-fit indices for this model were reported as strong, supporting the structural integrity of the measure: strong>RMSEA} = strong>.06}, strong>CFI} = strong>.95}, and strong>GFI} = strong>.95}. These findings provide essential support for the use of the CB-19 as a two-dimensional measure.

Instrument

strong>Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

strong>Format: The response scale items are ordinal.

strong>Language Available: No data is Available (Likely Persian/Farsi, based on population details)

strong>Population Group: Human; Male; Female

strong>Age Group: No data is Available

strong>Population Details: Respondents had a mean age of strong>26.51 years} and were residents of Iran, specifically Mashhad.

strong>Test Methodology: The methodology included Test Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, and Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Keywords

CB-19, Psychological Distress, Iran, Mashhad, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Cronbach’s Alpha, Ordinal Scale.

Authors

strong>Author ORCID Identifier:

• Moshirian-Farahi, Seyed-Mohammad-Mahdi: No data is Available
• Moshirian-Farahi, Seyedeh-Maryam: No data is Available
• Ghazaei, Maryam: No data is Available

strong>Affiliation Email addresses:

• Moshirian-Farahi, Seyed-Mohammad-Mahdi: Carleton University, Department of Psychology
• Moshirian-Farahi, Seyedeh-Maryam: Imam Reza International University, Department of Psychology (strong>Email:}[email protected])
• Ghazaei, Maryam: Sadjad University, Department of Humanities

strong>Correspondence Address:

• Moshirian-Farahi, Seyed-Mohammad-Mahdi: Imam Reza International University, Department of Psychology, Mashhad, Iran, Islamic Republic of, (strong>Email:}[email protected])

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

strong>Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author

strong>Fee: No

strong>Commercial: No

strong>Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Moshirian-Farahi, S.-M.-M., Hoshirian-Farahi, S.-M., & Ghazaei, M. (2023). The prevalence of psychological distress and its associations with attentional control and COVID-19 related behaviors in an Iranian sample. emph{International Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 17}(1), 46–51. https://doi.org/10.22037/ijbs.v17i1.35061

Items of the COVID-19-related Behaviors Scale (CB-19)

The CB-19 is a 14-item measure. The text states that 7 items are loaded into Factor 1 (health-related behaviors) and 7 items are loaded into Factor 2 (psychological-related behaviors). Specific item content is not provided.