Fear of Covid-19: Associations with Trait Anxiety and Life Satisfaction

Aim: Present study aimed to analyze perceived fear of COVID-19 among Turkish people and investigate its associations with trait anxiety and life satisfaction. Methods: The online snowball research sampling method was used to collect data, and 1129 subjects participated in the study. As data collection tools, the Fear of COVID-19 scale, Trait Anxiety Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale were used. In the adaptation and validation process of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, confirmatory factor analysis was applied. Convergent validity of the model resulting from CFA was evaluated with Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and Composite Reliability (CR) based on the factor load values. The reliability of the scale was assessed with Cronbach's alpha method. Independent samples t-test and Two-Way ANOVA analysis were used to compare the differences in the perception of fear of COVID-19, trait anxiety and life satisfaction. Multiple regression was applied to predict anxiety based on fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction. Results: Analyze results confirmed the unidimensionality of the 7-item scale on a Turkish sample, and the results indicated satisfactory reliability coefficients. According to independent t-test and Two Way Anova results, females, non-athletes, participants with the worry of gaining weight, who did not care about their nutrition, and who followed media news more often scored higher fear of COVID-19 and anxiety. Multiple regression analysis identified a negative correlation between fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction and a positive correlation with anxiety. Conclusion: Although the present study revealed the associations of the fear of Covid-19 with life satisfaction and anxiety, further research is still recommended to explore these associations in more depth.