Perceived fear of COVID-19 infection according to sex, age and occupational risk using the Brazilian version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale

We investigated the fear of COVID-19 infection after proper translation and cultural adaptation of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale to the Brazilian Portuguese language. A sample of 1,743 Brazilian participants were included. The scale showed excellent psychometric characteristics. Women showed higher anxiety levels. Fear of COVID-19 scores were lower in males with occupational risk of contamination. On the other hand, women and younger individuals showed higher fear of COVID-19 infection scores. The Brazilian Fear of COVID-19 Scale proved to be a reliable tool with excellent psychometric properties for identifying fear of COVID-19 infection in the Brazilian population.

Automated summary

This study investigated the fear of COVID-19 infection and translated and culturally adapted the Fear of COVID-19 Scale to Brazilian Portuguese. The results showed that women and younger individuals had higher fear of COVID-19 infection scores, while males with occupational risk of contamination had lower fear scores.