Adaptation of the Bangla Version of the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale

The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is among the first few published screening tools for assessing dysfunctional anxiety induced by the current COVID-19 pandemic. The CAS was translated into the Bangla language following the International Test Commission's guidelines for this adaptation study and placed in an online survey (N = 737, with a mean age of 26.55 (SD = 7.166 years) to assess the psychometric properties of the Bangla version of the scale. Results suggested that all items had a good item discrimination index and single-factor structure with good factor loadings. The CAS Bangla version was found to have good internal consistency reliabilities, test-retest reliability, and composite reliability (>= 0.7). The measurement invariance suggested invariances across age groups and gender. The CAS Bangla version showed a high correlation to the anxiety subscale of the short form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and a moderate correlation to the depression subscale of the DASS-21 and the COVID-19 Worry Scale. This validation of a Bangla CAS scale would be helpful for mental health practitioners to assess pandemic anxiety among the Bangladeshi people.

Automated summary

The study translated the CAS scale into Bangla language and assessed its psychometric properties through an online survey. The Bangla version showed good item discrimination, single-factor structure, and factor loadings. It had good internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, and composite reliability, with invariances across age groups and gender. The Bangla CAS version had a high correlation with the anxiety subscale of DASS-21 and a moderate correlation with the depression subscale of DASS-21 and the COVID-19 Worry Scale. This validation of the Bangla CAS scale would be useful for assessing pandemic anxiety among the Bangladeshi population.