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

Abstract 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 of 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 study was performed on 316 participants. The FCV-19S underwent a double back translation procedure. Its psychometric properties were evaluated.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.