Obsession with COVID-19-Scale

Source: Christopher Newport University (CNU). Published: 5/14/2020. Basic information The Obsession with COVID-19 Scale (OCS) is a self-report mental health screener of persistent and disturbed thinking about COVID-19. Because the COVID-19 crisis affects nearly every aspect of a person ’s life, the OCS was developed to help clinicians and researchers efficiently identify cases of individuals functionally impaired by their COVID-19 related thinking patterns. Psychometric properties The OCS was developed on two large samples of adults (n = 775; n = 398) residing across the United States. The OCS is a reliable instrument ( αs> .83), with solid factorial (single-factor) and construct (correlated with coronavirus anxiety, spiritual crisis, alcohol/drug coping, extreme hopelessness, and suicidal ideation) validity. The diagnostic properties of the OCS (81% to 93% sensitivity and 73% to 76% specificity) are comparable to related screening instruments, such as the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Scoring and interpretation Each item of the OCS is rated on a 5-point scale, from 0 (not at all) to 4 (nearly every day), based on experiences over the past two weeks. This scaling format is consistent with the DSM-5 ’s cross-cutting symptom measure. An OCS total score ≥ 7 indicates probable dysfunctional thinking about COVID-19. Elevated scores on a particular item or a high total scale score (≥ 7) may indicate problematic symptoms for the individual that might warrant fur...
Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news