Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://repository.iimb.ac.in/handle/2074/22199
Title: The perceived vulnerability to disease scale: Cross-cultural measurement invariance and associations with fear of COVID-19 across 16 countries
Authors: Karakulak, Arzu 
Stogianni, Maria 
Alonso-Arbiol, Itziar 
Shukla, Shanu 
Bender, Michael 
Yeung, Victoria Wai Lan 
Jovanovic, Veljko 
Musso, Pasquale 
Scardigno, Rosa 
Scott, Riley A. 
Stuart, Jaimee 
Friehs, Maria-Therese 
Toh, Zena 
Albayrak-Aydemir, Nihan 
Arvanitis, Alexios 
Buzea, Carmen 
Mastrotheodoros, Stefanos 
Tsang, Jo-Ann 
Madeira, Filipa 
Miconi, Diana 
Pascual, Nicole Russell 
Rowatt, Wade C. 
Al-Kire, Rosemary L. 
Amar, Moty 
Aral, Tugce 
Itzchakov, Guy 
Mishra, Sushanta Kumar 
Porat, Roni 
Servidio, Rocco 
Stefenel, Delia 
Tair, Ergyul 
Gkomez, Alexandros 
Keywords: Culture;Disease threat;Fear of COVID-19;Measurement invariance;Perceived vulnerability to disease
Issue Date: 2023
Publisher: Wiley
Abstract: Using cross-sectional data from N = 4274 young adults across 16 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, we examined the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD) scale and tested the hypothesis that the association between PVD and fear of COVID-19 is stronger under high disease threat [that is, absence of COVID-19 vaccination, living in a country with lower Human Development Index (HDI) or higher COVID-19 mortality]. Results supported a bi-factor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling model where items loaded on a global PVD factor, and on the sub-factors of Perceived Infectability and Germ Aversion. However, cross-national invariance could only be obtained on the configural level with a reduced version of the PVD scale (PVD-r), suggesting that the concept of PVD may vary across nations. Moreover, higher PVD-r was consistently associated with greater fear of COVID-19 across all levels of disease threat, but this association was especially pronounced among individuals with a COVID-19 vaccine, and in contexts where COVID-19 mortality was high. The present research brought clarity into the dimensionality of the PVD measure, discussed its suitability and limitations for cross-cultural research, and highlighted the pandemic-related conditions under which higher PVD is most likely to go along with psychologically maladaptive outcomes, such as fear of COVID-19.
URI: https://repository.iimb.ac.in/handle/2074/22199
ISSN: 1751-9004
DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12878
Appears in Collections:2020-2029 C

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