COVID-19 Health Behavior Scale Development and Validation based on the Protection Motivation Theory

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a scale to measure the protection motivation for COVID- 19-related health behaviors and test its reliability and validity. Methods: The first draft of the scale was prepared using a literature review, a theoretical analysis, a team discussion, and expert consultation. A questionnaire survey was administered to 500 participants. The items and structure of the scale were improved using an item analysis and exploratory factor analysis. The goodness of fit between the scale and theoretical construct was verified using a confirmatory factor analysis. The scale reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s α and split-half reliability. Results: The scale for measuring the protection motivation for COVID-19 related health behaviors was comprised of 34 items in eight dimensions: severity, vulnerability, extrinsic reward, intrinsic reward, self-efficacy, response efficacy, response cost, and fear. The cumulative contribution of the eight common factors identified in the exploratory factor analysis to the variance was 64.722%, the factor loadings of the 34 items were in the range of 0.552~0.874 (a factor loading >0.4 is generally considered acceptable), and no multiple loadings were found. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a good overall fit of the model. All of the Cronbach’s α and Guttman split-half coefficients of the individual dimensions were greater than 0.7. Conclusion: The scale for measuring the protection motivation for COVID-19-related health behaviors had good reliability and validity and can be used to assess the level of protection motivation for COVID-19-related health behaviors.