Adaptation of COVID-19 Stress Scale (CSS-19) in Iran

Abstract

In addition to physical consequences and high mortality rate of Covid19, its psychological and social consequences have also been subject to many studies around the world. Numeral tools having been developed for this purpose; CSS-19 is one of the most cited scales. Considering the lack of a validated and reliable tool for assessment of psychosocial aspects of Covid19 in Iran, we conducted this study to adapt CSS-19 so it is suitable to be used in Iran. Methods and Materials: After Forward-Backward translation to Farsi, the questionnaire was both qualitatively and quantitatively assessed by the experts panel regarding content, construct and face validity. Then the modified Farsi CSS was filled by 50 participants twice with a 2-week interval in order to assess reliability and consistency. Results: Based on the opinions of experts panel, 16 items were deleted from Farsi CSS, including all items of Xenophobia subscale, for it to be suitable for Iranian society. Then the modified 20-item Farsi CSS was assessed by a second experts panel, which confirmed its validity. Finally, our statistical analysis showed a Cronbach`s Alfa of 0.91 and 0.88 and ICC of 0.98 for the 20-item Farsi CSS.