The Spanish version of the short form of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12): Testing the factor structure and measurement invariance across genders

Arnáez, S; García-Soriano, G; Castro, J; Berle, D; Starcevic, V

The Spanish version of the short form of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12): Testing the factor structure and measurement invariance across genders

Arnáez, S García-Soriano, G Castro, J Berle, D

Starcevic, V

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Publisher:: SPRINGER
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Current Psychology, 2022
Issue Date:: 2022-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Arnáez, S
dc.contributor.author	García-Soriano, G
dc.contributor.author	Castro, J
dc.contributor.author	Berle, D https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4861-2220
dc.contributor.author	Starcevic, V
dc.date.accessioned	2022-11-30T23:33:38Z
dc.date.available	2022-11-30T23:33:38Z
dc.date.issued	2022-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Current Psychology, 2022
dc.identifier.issn	1046-1310
dc.identifier.issn	1936-4733
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/163941
dc.description.abstract	Cyberchondria refers to excessive and repeated online health-related searching, which is associated with increased distress and anxiety. The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS) is the most widely used measure for assessment of cyberchondria, and its shortened version (CSS-12) has recently been developed. The aim of the present study was to develop the Spanish version of the CSS-12 and test its psychometric properties. A community sample of 432 Spanish-speaking adults (67.6% women; mean age = 36.00 ± 15.22 years) completed the Spanish translation of CSS-12 along with measures of health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, anxiety and depressive symptoms. The Spanish version of the CSS-12 comprises a general cyberchondria factor and four specific factors (‘excessiveness’, ‘compulsion’, ‘distress’, and ‘reassurance’). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated measurement invariance across gender groups. Internal consistency values for the total score and subscales were good to excellent. The CSS-12 showed strong correlations with health anxiety, and moderate to low correlations with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms, supporting the convergent and divergent validity of the CSS-12, respectively. In conclusion, these results show that the CSS-12 is a valid and reliable tool for measuring cyberchondria in both genders in the general Spanish population.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	SPRINGER
dc.relation.ispartof	Current Psychology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s12144-022-03170-3
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1701 Psychology, 1702 Cognitive Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Social Psychology
dc.title	The Spanish version of the short form of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12): Testing the factor structure and measurement invariance across genders
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	1701 Psychology
utslib.for	1702 Cognitive Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Graduate School of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Graduate School of Health/GSH.Clinical Psychology
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2022-11-30T23:33:37Z
pubs.publication-status	Published

Abstract:

Cyberchondria refers to excessive and repeated online health-related searching, which is associated with increased distress and anxiety. The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS) is the most widely used measure for assessment of cyberchondria, and its shortened version (CSS-12) has recently been developed. The aim of the present study was to develop the Spanish version of the CSS-12 and test its psychometric properties. A community sample of 432 Spanish-speaking adults (67.6% women; mean age = 36.00 ± 15.22 years) completed the Spanish translation of CSS-12 along with measures of health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, anxiety and depressive symptoms. The Spanish version of the CSS-12 comprises a general cyberchondria factor and four specific factors (‘excessiveness’, ‘compulsion’, ‘distress’, and ‘reassurance’). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated measurement invariance across gender groups. Internal consistency values for the total score and subscales were good to excellent. The CSS-12 showed strong correlations with health anxiety, and moderate to low correlations with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms, supporting the convergent and divergent validity of the CSS-12, respectively. In conclusion, these results show that the CSS-12 is a valid and reliable tool for measuring cyberchondria in both genders in the general Spanish population.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/163941