Construction and Validation of the Disconfinement Anxiety Scale in People Exposed to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the confinement of the population for prolonged periods of time. The possibility of leaving home after quarantine can produce anxiety and fear of contagion. The aim of the present study was to construct an instrument to assess the anxiety of being unconfined and to test its psychometric properties. The Disconfinement Anxiety Scale was administered online to 417 adults aged 18 years or older, men and women, living in Chile. An exploratory factor analysis was performed and found two dimensions: contagion avoidance and emotional distress. The scale showed a positive correlation with general distress and a negative correlation with satisfaction with life. The total scale obtained a Cronbach's a of.92 and its subfactors explain 51.24% of the total variance. These results present a valid and reliable instrument to assess disconfinement anxiety, which can be used to detect people vulnerable to mental health problems during or after the pandemic.