Assessment of anxiety and fear of COVID-19 in the prison population: Psychometric properties of the AMICO_Inmates scale

Abstract

The COVID-19 disease has entailed a public health challenge and an increased sense of uncertainty for the prison population, who have experienced restrictions on access to social contacts, communal areas, and information for a longer and more recent period than the general population, as well as increased levels of anxiety and fear associated with the COVID-19 disease. The objective of this study was the validation of the Anxiety and Fear of COVID-19 (AMICO) Assessment Scale to measure both anxiety and fear constructs in Spanish prison inmates. A descriptive psychometric validation study was carried out. A field study was conducted to perform univariate analyses, in addition to the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the scale. The study sample consisted of 711 subjects over 18 years of age, inmates in Spanish prisons, 14.1% of whom were women with a mean age of 40.35 years (SD = 2.62). The construct validity study reported 2 factors and 16 items, with a Cronbach alpha value of 0.95, confirmed by McDonald Omega coefficient, with a value of 0.951. The AMICO scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the level of anxiety and fear of COVID-19 in the Spanish adult prison population and shows high sensitivity.