The Schoolteachers' Version of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 (SAVE-9) Scale for Assessing Stress and Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aimed to validate the schoolteachers' version of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 (SAVE-9) scale. This scale assessed the work-related stress and anxiety response of schoolteachers to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 400 schoolteachers participated in an online survey between March 4 and 15, 2021. The survey questionnaire included the schoolteachers' version of the SAVE-9, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorders-7 (GAD-7) scales. A scree test and parallel analysis suggested a single-factor structure model for the schoolteachers' version of the SAVE-9 scale (real-data eigenvalue = 68.89, 95th percentile of the random eigenvalues = 27.56). The SAVE-9 scale showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.853) and good convergent validity with GAD-7 (rho = 0.545, p < 0.001) and PHQ-9 (rho = 0.434, p < 0.001) scale scores. This, schoolteachers' version of the SAVE-9 scale is a reliable and valid rating scale that can be applied to teachers in a pandemic situation

Application of Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 Items (SAVE-6) to Public Workers for Measuring Their Anxiety Response During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: This study aimed to compare the adaptability of the adapted version of Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 (SAVE-9) for public workers and the SAVE-6 scale and to validate them among public workers who are on the frontline of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: A total of 300 public workers responded to the anonymous online survey during April 1-12, 2021. Principal component analysis was conducted with varimax rotation to explore the factor structure of this scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was also used to explore construct validity. Spearman correlation analysis of the scale with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was performed to explore the convergent validity. The cut-off score in accordance with the mild degree of generalized anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 score of 5) was defined using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Findings: The single-structure model of each scale (the adapted version of SAVE-9 and SAVE-6) was adopted based on the results of the parallel analysis. Because SAVE-6 showed good construct validity, but the adapted version of SAVE-9 did not, we adopted to apply the SAVE-6 scale to assess the anxiety response of public workers in response to the viral epidemic. SAVE-6 showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.817; McDonald's Omega = 0.818) and good convergent validity with GAD-7 (rho = 0.417, p < 0.001) and PHQ-9 (rho = 0.317, p < 0.001) scale scores. The appropriate cut-off score for SAVE-6 was determined to be >= 16. Conclusion: The SAVE-6 scale, as compared to the public workers' version of SAVE-9, is a reliable and valid rating scale to assess the work-related stress and anxiety of public workers due to the viral epidemic

Effects of Depression and Resilience of Public Workers on Work-related Stress and Anxiety in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: This study explored the clinical variables related to public workers' stress and anxiety regarding the viral epidemic, and the mediating effect of resilience on the relationship between their depression and anxiety in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A total of 938 public workers answered anonymous questionnaires in May 2020. The survey included rating scales such as the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 (SAVE 9), Patients Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 2 items (CD-RISC 2), and subjects also answered whether they were employed in COVID-19 related fields. Results: Married, female, junior, public workers reported a higher level of stress and anxiety in response to the viral epidemic. Furthermore, high levels of stress and anxiety toward the epidemic are defined by high PHQ-9, high GAD-7, and low CD-RISC 2 scores. It could also be seen that resilience mediated the effect of depression in public workers and their stress and anxiety levels toward the epidemic. Conclusion: It is important to reduce the psychological burden of public workers and manage their mental health to help them cope with the epidemic wisely and efficiently. Among many mental health factors, psychological resilience represents an essential target for psychological intervention among public workers