Abstract

Background and Objectives: Covid-19 has caused substantial disruption to how we live, work and socialise and has evoked concerns and worries regarding many aspects of life. As the UK was easing Covid-19 restrictions in the period March – May 2021, we devised and validated a Worries Emerging from the Covid-19 Pandemic scale (the WECP scale).

Research Design and Methods: We devised 100 items that factor analyses over two rounds of data collection on UK residents reduced to a 14-item scale. The resultant WECP scale captures the following dimensions: worries about the future course of the virus; worries about readjusting to society; feelings of isolation; worries about the continuation or reintroduction of restrictions; worries for family and friends; financial worries and worries regarding the safety and efficacy of Covid vaccines.

Results: Scores on our WECP scale are independently predicted by three scales from the peer-reviewed literature: one that captures fear concerning the disease itself, one that captures broader worries around the pandemic and one that measures resilience. WECP scores are lower among older respondents (age 70+) than among younger respondents (age 40-49) and this is largely explained by financial worries and worries regarding the efficacy and risks of the Covid-19 vaccines.

Discussion: The WECP scale provides a uniquely insightful measure of the worries experienced by the older UK population as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. It can help identify which groups have been left feeling vulnerable by the pandemic and on which dimensions those groups would profit from support.

Rights

Authors retain copyright. Proper attribution of authorship and correct citation details should be given. See: https://storre.stir.ac.uk/STORREEndUserLicence.pdf

Cite as

Comerford, D., Olivarius, O., Bell, D. & Douglas, E. 2022, Validation of the Worries Emerging from the Covid-19 Pandemic (WECP) Scale, University of Stirling Economics Working Papers. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/34060

Downloadable citations

Download HTML citationHTML Download BIB citationBIB Download RIS citationRIS
Last updated: 17 March 2023
Was this page helpful?