COVID-19 Regulations Measure

Abstract

The COVID-19 Regulations Measure (Hughes et al., 2023) was developed to assess parent reports of their children’s feelings toward, and understanding of, COVID-19 regulations. This instrument was designed for a study conducted with a sample of parents of 3–8-year-olds from multiple countries. The current constructs were measured in this sample using a total of five items created by the authors, and was initially developed in English, before being translated into Chinese, Italian, and Swedish. Reliability results were reported for these items. A limitation was noted relative to the non-representative nature of the sample.

Keywords

Children; COVID-19 Regulations; Negative Feelings; Parent Report; Understanding

Authors

Hughes, Claire; Ronchi, Luca; Heng, Jean; Basile, Chiara; Del Sette, Paola; Lecce, Serena; the i-FAM COVID-19 Consortium.

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Purpose

The purpose of this questionnaire is to measure child understanding and feelings toward COVID-19 regulations.

Validity

No data is Available.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: Internal consistency among the five rules/situations ranged from α = .66 (Italy) to α = .75 (China) for understanding and from α = .75 (US) to α = .80 (China) for feelings.

Factor Analysis

No data is Available.

Instrument

Test Type

Original Inventory/Questionnaire.

Format

In terms of negative feelings toward COVID-19 regulations, a 3-point scale indicates the extent to which children feel anxious or resistant toward the rules (1 = never anxious or resistant, 2 = sometimes anxious or resistant, 3 = often anxious or resistant). For understanding, parents indicated the extent to which children needed reminding of the COVID-19 regulations (1 = often needs reminding, 2 = sometimes needs reminding, 3 = never needs reminding). Higher scores on this scale indicate higher understanding of COVID-19 regulations. In Sweden, a fourth option was added (4 = not applicable) to accommodate the Swedish government’s alternative response to COVID-19, such as a lack of enforcement of a national lockdown.

Language Available

Chinese; English; Italian; Spanish. The original language was English.

Population Group

Human; Male; Female.

Age Group

Adulthood (18 yrs & older).

Population Details

Respondents were parents of 3–8-year-olds from Australia, China, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Test Methodology

Test Reliability; Internal Consistency.

Keywords

Comprehension; Health Knowledge; Negative Emotions; Parent Report; Health Attitude Measures; Child Health; COVID-19.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier

Heng, Jean: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8083-0930

Affiliation

• Hughes, Claire: University of Cambridge, Centre for Family Research

• Ronchi, Luca: University of Pavia, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences

• Heng, Jean: University of Cambridge, Centre for Family Research

• Basile, Chiara: University of Pavia, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences

• Del Sette, Paola: University of Pavia, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences

• Lecce, Serena: University of Pavia, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences

• the i-FAM COVID-19 Consortium

Email Addresses

Ronchi, Luca: [email protected]

Correspondence Address

Ronchi, Luca: University of Pavia, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, P.zza Botta 6, Pavia, Italy, 27100, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

This instrument may be used for Research/Teaching purposes. There is no commercial use and no fee required. The test year is 2023.

References

Hughes, C., Ronchi, L., Heng, J., Basile, C., Del Sette, P., Lecce, S., & the i-FAM COVID-19 Consortium. (2023). What mediates the effect of family disruption in the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s prosocial behavior: A multisite study. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 52–65. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000485

Items of the COVID-19 Regulations Measure

The scale consists of 5 items.
Subscales: Understanding; Negative feelings.

How well does your child understand and feel about rules/situations regarding . . .

1. washing hands often and for 20 s.

2. keeping 2 m apart.

3. staying at home.

4. school closure.

5. no visits from friends/family.

Note. Each item is rated from 1=never anxious or resistant to 3=often anxious or resistant and from 1=often needs reminding to 3=never needs reminding for Feelings and Understanding, respectively.