A Latent Profile Analysis of the COVID-19 Stressors Scale

Objective: Research from the early months of the SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) pandemic identifies many COVID-related stressors, including fears of infection, disruptions to work/learning and daily self-care routines, and lack of access to reliable information and resources. Measuring the complex, ongoing nature of the stressors related to COVID-19 is of great practical utility, as is investigating how people may differently respond to stressors. The objective of the present study was to identify the possible profiles of COVID-19-related stressors using a recently developed measure, the COVID-19 Stressors Scale. Method: The present study sampled individuals from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk; n = 1,530) and examined the COVID-19 Stressors Scale with a latent profile analysis. Results: Using a latent profile analysis, three profiles of COVID-19-related stressors were identified, Moderate Disruption Distress, High Disruption Distress, and Identity and Role Strain. Conclusions: Based on the results of the study, the authors encourage researchers to differentiate types of stressors profiles of individual experiences COVID-19 or future pandemics. Clinical Impact Statement This article looked at a new assessment of SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) related stressors, the COVID-19 Stressors Scale. The article found that individuals respond to stressors in different ways and specific stressors may be more significant for different people.