The Vaccination Fear Scale (VFS-6)adaptation, cross-cultural validation, and invariance among genders and six different cultures, applying classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT)

  1. Olga Malas 1
  2. Nada Mallah Boustani 2
  3. Mirko Duradoni 3
  4. Dayo Omotoso 4
  5. Asiye Sengül Avsar 5
  6. Anastasiia Shyroka 6
  7. Giulia Colombini 3
  8. Angel Blanch 1
  1. 1 Universitat de Lleida
    info

    Universitat de Lleida

    Lleida, España

    ROR https://ror.org/050c3cw24

  2. 2 Saint Joseph University
    info

    Saint Joseph University

    Beirut, Líbano

    ROR https://ror.org/044fxjq88

  3. 3 University of Florence
    info

    University of Florence

    Florencia, Italia

    ROR https://ror.org/04jr1s763

  4. 4 Redeemer's University
    info

    Redeemer's University

    Lagos, Nigeria

    ROR https://ror.org/01v0we819

  5. 5 Recep Tayyip Erdo˘gan University
  6. 6 Ukrainian Catholic University
    info

    Ukrainian Catholic University

    Leópolis, Ucrania

    ROR https://ror.org/05tt5nr09

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Revista:
EJIHPE: European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education

ISSN: 2174-8144,  2254-9625

Año de publicación: 2024

Volumen: 14

Número: 4

Páginas: 808-822

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.3390/EJIHPE14040052 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openDialnet editor

Otras publicaciones en: EJIHPE: European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education

Resumen

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a meaningful impact on several areas of human activity. With respect to psychological assessment, the requirements to study the fear of vaccination as a means to diminish negative behaviour towards vaccination had been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the factorial invariance of the six-item Vaccination Fear Scale (VFS-6) across individuals and cultures. To achieve this goal, a sample of university students was recruited (n = 2535; mean age = 20.59, SD = 2.04; males: 26.75%, females: 73.25%) from Spain (n = 388; 15.3%), Italy (n = 376; 14.83%), Lebanon (n = 487; 19.21%), Nigeria (n = 561; 22.13%), Turkey (n = 410; 16.17%), and Ukraine (n = 313; 12.34%). The results showed that the most appropriate factorial structure, exhibiting excellent fit indices, was a model with two correlated factors (cognitive symptoms: items 1, 2, and 4; somatic symptoms: items 3, 5, and 6) for both the total sample and individual samples from each country and language (Spanish, Italian, Arabic, English, Turkish, and Ukrainian). Notably, the VFS-6 demonstrated configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across sex. Regarding countries and languages, configural invariance was observed between them. Also, metric invariance was observed between Spain, Italy, and Ukraine and between Lebanon, Nigeria, and Turkey, which indicates the presence of two well-differentiated groups of countries and the possibility of inferential analysis between them. Item Response Theory analysis suggested an appropriate level of discrimination and difficulty of the test. These significant findings lay the groundwork for future investigations into vaccination fear across diverse cultural backgrounds, providing valuable insights for addressing vaccination-related concerns worldwide.

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Información de financiación

Financiadores

  • Development and Cooperation Unit of the University of Lleida

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