Table 1.
Pandemic Avoidance and Concern Scales (PACS) Questionnaire Items
| Item Designation | Item Text | Response Options |
|---|---|---|
| Biweekly Items | ||
| Q1 | How concerned have you been about the coronavirus (COVID-19) during the past two weeks? |
0 - Not at all 1 - A little bit 2 - Moderately 3 - Quite a bit 4 - Extremely |
| Q2 | How likely do you think it is that you could become infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19)? | |
| Q3 | During the past two weeks, which of the following behaviours have you engaged in due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic? (check all that apply) |
0 - No 1 – Yes |
| Q3.1 | Purchased hygiene products (e.g., Purell, disinfectant spray/wipes, hand soap) | |
| Q3.2 | Purchased extra food and/or beverages | |
| Q3.3 | Purchased extra health and/or beauty aid products (e.g., toilet paper, toothpaste) | |
| Q3.4 | Checked your body for signs of illness (e.g., taken temperature) | |
| Q3.5 | Called a helpline or accessed health materials on the internet for information | |
| Q4 | During the past two weeks, how often have you done the following things due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic? |
0 – Never 1 - Several times a week 2 - Once a day/daily 3 - Several times a day 4 - Many times a day |
| Q4.1 | Checked the news (newspaper, online, phone, TV) for updates on COVID-19 | |
| Q4.2 | Used a hygienic product (e.g., Purell/hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray/wipes, washed hands for much longer than usual with soap) as a precaution for COVID-19 | |
| Q4.3 | Cleaned surfaces (e.g., doorknobs, keyboards, cell phones) as a precaution for COVID-19 | |
| Q5 | During the past two weeks, how often did you purposely avoid the following activities because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic? |
0 - Never or Not Applicable 1 - Once or twice 2 - Three or four times 3 - Every day |
| Q5.1 | Avoided going to work or school | |
| Q5.2 | Avoided public places (e.g., grocery store, restaurants, shops, gym) | |
| Q5.3 | Avoided social activities (e.g., visiting friends, clubs, extracurricular activities | |
| Q5.4 | Avoided going on a date with a friend or partner | |
| Q5.5 | Avoided public transportation (e.g., airplane, train, bus, subway) | |
| Q5.6 | Avoided touching my face | |
| Q5.7 | Avoided touching another person (e.g., shaking hands, hugging, kissing) | |
| Q5.8 | Avoided going to the doctor or hospital | |
| Q5.9 | If you avoided any of the activities listed above, why (check all that apply)? |
0 - No 1 – Yes |
| Q5.9.1 | I was concerned about being infected | |
| Q5.9.2 | I was concerned about infecting other people | |
| Monthly Items | ||
| MQ1 a | Think about your life circumstances prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, or what your life is usually like. Compared to your typical life, to what extent has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your life circumstances during the past month? Consider both positive and negative changes in making your rating. |
0 - Not at all; the COVID-19 pandemic has not impacted my life in the last month 1 - A little; the COVID-19 pandemic had a small impact on my life this past month 2 - Moderate; the COVID 19 pandemic has moderately changed my life this past month 3 - Quite a bit; the COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on my life this past month 4- Extreme; the COVID-19 pandemic has had an extremely strong impact on my life this past month |
| MQ2 a | Again, think about your life circumstances prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, or what your life is usually like. Generally speaking, how do you feel about these changes that COVID-19 has brought to your life during the past month? |
-4 - Extremely negative; all the changes to my life due to COVID-19 are extremely undesirable -3 - Very negative -2 - Moderately negative -1 - A little bit negative 0 - Neutral; either no changes occurred due to COVID-19 this past month or the changes were a mix of welcome and unwelcome changes 1 - A little bit positive 2 - Moderately positive 3- Very much Positive 4 - Extremely positive; all the changes to my life due to COVID-19 are extremely welcome or positive |
| MQ3 a | During the past month, have you or others living in your home been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in any of the following ways? When relevant, you can indicate that something happened to both yourself and someone else in the home by selecting BOTH ‘a’ and ‘b’ |
0 - No / Not applicable 1 - Yes |
| MQ3.1 a | Your child(ren)’s school/classes moved to online instruction. | |
| MQ3.2 a | Change of residence | |
| MQ3.3 a b | Shelter in place (avoiding leaving the house, except to be outdoors) |
0 – No / Not applicable 1 – Yes, this happened to another person/people in my home 2 – Yes, this happened to me 3 – Yes, this happened to me AND another person/people in my home |
| MQ3.4 a b | Self-quarantine (completely avoiding contact with other people) | |
| MQ3.5 a b | Job/occupation/work moved to at home/remote/online | |
| MQ3.6 a b | Reduced hours or laid off from work | |
| MQ4.1 a b | Had to work even though in close contact with people who might be infected (e.g., customers, patients, co-workers). | |
| MQ4.2 a b | Hard time doing job well because of needing to take care of people in the home. | |
| MQ4.3 a b | Job entailed providing care of any kind to people with COVID-19 (e.g., physician, nurse, support staff, custodial). | |
| MQ4.4 a b | Had to take over teaching or instructing a child (or children) at home due to COVID-19. | |
| MQ4.5 a b | Did not have the ability or resources to talk to family or friends while separated. | |
| MQ4.6 a b | Unable to access medical care for a serious condition (e.g., dialysis, chemotherapy). | |
| MQ5 a | In the past month, have you been tested for coronavirus (COVID-19)? |
0 - No 1 - Yes |
| MQ5.1 a | If yes, what was the result of the test? |
0 - Negative 1 - Do not know 2 - Positive |
| MQ6 a | In the past month, has your child (the one in our study) been tested for coronavirus (COVID-19)? |
0 - No 1 - Yes |
| MQ6.1 a | If yes, what was the result of the test? |
0 - Negative 1 - Do not know 2 - Positive |
| MQ7 a | In the past month, do you know anyone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19)? |
0 - No 1 - Yes |
| MQ7.1 a b | If yes, who (check all that apply)? | 1 point each – Family member, romantic partner, friend, roommate, co-worker, other (please specify) |
| MQ8 a | In the past month, have you or has anyone close to you been hospitalized due to coronavirus (COVID-19)? |
0 - No 1 - Yes |
| MQ8.1 a b | If yes, who (check all that apply)? | 1 point each – Family member, romantic partner, friend, roommate, co-worker, other (please specify) |
| MQ9 a | In the past month, has anyone close to you died due to coronavirus (COVID-19)? |
0 - No 1 - Yes |
| MQ9.1 a b | If yes, who (check all that apply)? | 1 point each – Family member, romantic partner, friend, roommate, co-worker, other (please specify) |
| MQ10 a c | What is your current occupational status (check all that apply)? |
1 - Temporarily unemployed due to COVID or Laid-off/fired due to COVID. 0 - Other (i.e., current student (college), current student (high school), full-time employed and going to work, full-time employed and working from home, work part-time and going to work, work part-time and working from home, unemployed prior to coronavirus outbreak) |
| MQ11 | Over the past month, how much privacy do you have? |
2 – Much more privacy than I want / Much less privacy than I want 1 – A little more privacy than I want / A little less privacy than I want 0 – Just as much privacy as I want |
| MQ12 c | During the past week, approximately how many people each day did you interact with in person (i.e., not through use of technology)? If you did not interact with anyone in person, enter 0. |
0–0–2 individuals 1–3–4 individuals 2–5–7 individuals 3–8–10 individuals 4–11 + individuals |
| MQ13 c | During the past week, approximately how many people each day did you interact with via technology (e.g., call, text, FaceTime, Skype)? If you did not interact with anyone via technology, enter 0. Do NOT include people you also saw in person. For example, if you texted your child while also seeing them at home, do not include them in your count. | |
| MQ14 | During the past month, has the coronavirus affected how emotionally close you and others living in your home feel toward one another? |
2 - We feel much closer to each other 1 - We feel somewhat closer to each other 0 - No change - we are as close as before -1 - We feel somewhat less close to each other -2 - We feel much less close to each other |
| MQ15 | During the past month, has the coronavirus affected the degree to which there is conflict among people living in your home? |
2 - There is much less conflict/problems 1 - There is somewhat less conflict/problems 0 - There has been no change in the degree of conflict or problems -1 - There is somewhat more conflict/problems -2 - There is much more conflict/problems |
| MQ16 a | During the past month, do you have enough food or basic household items (e.g., soap, toilet paper)? |
2 – Yes 1 – We have enough of some things but are lacking others 0 - No |
| MQ17 a | During the past month, have you experienced or are you expecting a substantial reduction in personal or family income? |
3 – No change or an increase 2 – Don’t know 1 – Yes, some reduction 0 – Yes, substantial reduction |
| MQ17.1 a | If you chose a or b (i.e., you expect a reduction in income), how will this affect you, now or in the future? |
4 – Not at all 3 – Slight effect 2 – Moderate effect 1 – Strong effect 0 – Extremely strong effect |
Note: “COVID-19” and “coronavirus” can be swapped to a proximal disease event if needed in future studies. All items were translated to z-scores before entry into EFAs. a indicates questions were asked to caregivers only. b indicates items recoded as scores summed across multiple checked items. c indicates items recoded as categorical variables