Validation of the French Version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale and Its Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Differential Emotions

The COVID-19 crisis represents a global health concern, including mental health. Regarding the necessity to assess anxiety related to COVID-19, a scale was developed (Ahorsu et al., 2020). The goal of the present study was to validate the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in French (official language in 29 countries), and investigate its relationship with indicators of affective disturbances. The sample comprised 316 participants (271 females) recruited online during the French lockdown. They were from several regions of France. The FCV-19S underwent a forward-backward translation procedure. Its psychometric properties were evaluated with the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The French FCV-19S demonstrated a stable unidimensional structure with robust psychometric properties (strong internal consistency, good convergent and divergent validity, and good test-retest validity). With its robust psychometric properties in assessing the unidimensional construct of the fear of COVID-19, this scale will help to provide a better understanding of the relationship between emotions and psychological or psychiatric disorders during the pandemics in French-speaking countries.