Preschooler Stressor-Related Thoughts and Worries During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development and Validation of a Caregiver-Report Instrument

Mira Vasileva; Meghan L. Marsac; Eva Alisic; Vanessa E. Cobham; Seetha H. Davis; Caroline Donovan; Aimee K. Hildenbrand; Elisabeth Hoehn; Sonja March; Alisa B. Miller; Tess Smith-Thomas; Rachel Wamser-Nanney; Alexandra De Young

doi:10.1037/trm0000429

Preschooler Stressor-Related Thoughts and Worries During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development and Validation of a Caregiver-Report Instrument

Mira Vasileva
, Meghan L. Marsac
, Eva Alisic
, Vanessa E. Cobham
, Seetha H. Davis
, Caroline Donovan
, Aimee K. Hildenbrand
, Elisabeth Hoehn
, Sonja March
, Alisa B. Miller
, Tess Smith-Thomas
, Rachel Wamser-Nanney
, Alexandra De Young

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

There is little evidence on cognitions that are associated with emotional and behavioral problems in preschoolers during stressful events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents the initial development and validation of a caregiver-report instrument, the Preschooler Stressor-related Thoughts and Worries (PSTW) scale, developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, caregivers from two countries reported on their child’s cognitions at baseline (T0) and three months later (T1; age 3–5 years; Australia: N = 559; United States: N = 346). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with the Australian sample at T0 and confirmed with the U.S. sample at T0. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a one-factor model including 10 items. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis failed to clearly support this structure (comparative fit index =.91, root mean square error of approximation =.11). Construct validity was supported by positive associations between PSTW scores and emotional and behavioral problems. Although the PSTW is a promising instrument to assess preschooler cognitions related to COVID-19, further investigation of its performance in other contexts (e.g., other countries, other stressful or traumatic events) is needed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	477-484
Number of pages	8
Journal	Traumatology
Volume	30
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000429
State	Published - Nov 7 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Psychological Association

Funding

The postdoc fellowship of Mira Vasileva was funded by the German Research Foundation (Research Fellowship 420503242). Eva Alisic is supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT090100255). This publication was supported by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant UL1TR001998. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Except for Mira Vasileva, Meghan L. Marsac, Eva Alisic, and Alexandra De Young authors contributed equally and have been ordered alphabetically. Mira Vasileva and Alexandra De Young worked closely together to design the study and develop study-specific measures and documents that were shared with both research teams. Mira Vasileva, Alexandra De Young, and Eva Alisic worked closely on developing the Preschooler Stressor-related Thoughts and Worries scale. Alexandra De Young was the principal investigator of the COVID-19 Unmasked project in Australia and started the COVID-19 Unmasked Global Collaboration. Meghan L. Marsac led the project in the United States. Mira Vasileva and Meghan L. Marsac conducted the analysis. Mira Vasileva drafted the manuscript. All authors reviewed the project aims and materials as well as this article and approved the final version of the manuscript. The authors would like to acknowledge that many children, parents, and families are experiencing mental health difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors also thank all participating families. The authors appreciate the engagement and help of all colleagues who were involved and supported this project. The Australian team would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of all lands and sea countries throughout Australia where the research was conducted and pays respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Elders past, present, and emerging.

Funders	Funder number
National Center for Research Resources
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft	420503242
Australian Research Council	FT090100255
National Institutes of Health (NIH)	UL1TR001998

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

COVID-19
cognitions
negative appraisals
preschooler
worries

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Nursing
Emergency Medicine
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Access to Document

10.1037/trm0000429

Cite this

Vasileva, M., Marsac, M. L., Alisic, E., Cobham, V. E., Davis, S. H., Donovan, C., Hildenbrand, A. K., Hoehn, E., March, S., Miller, A. B., Smith-Thomas, T., Wamser-Nanney, R., & De Young, A. (2022). Preschooler Stressor-Related Thoughts and Worries During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development and Validation of a Caregiver-Report Instrument. Traumatology, 30(3), 477-484. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000429

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abstract = "There is little evidence on cognitions that are associated with emotional and behavioral problems in preschoolers during stressful events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents the initial development and validation of a caregiver-report instrument, the Preschooler Stressor-related Thoughts and Worries (PSTW) scale, developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, caregivers from two countries reported on their child{\textquoteright}s cognitions at baseline (T0) and three months later (T1; age 3–5 years; Australia: N = 559; United States: N = 346). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with the Australian sample at T0 and confirmed with the U.S. sample at T0. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a one-factor model including 10 items. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis failed to clearly support this structure (comparative fit index =.91, root mean square error of approximation =.11). Construct validity was supported by positive associations between PSTW scores and emotional and behavioral problems. Although the PSTW is a promising instrument to assess preschooler cognitions related to COVID-19, further investigation of its performance in other contexts (e.g., other countries, other stressful or traumatic events) is needed.",

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Vasileva, M, Marsac, ML, Alisic, E, Cobham, VE, Davis, SH, Donovan, C, Hildenbrand, AK, Hoehn, E, March, S, Miller, AB, Smith-Thomas, T, Wamser-Nanney, R & De Young, A 2022, 'Preschooler Stressor-Related Thoughts and Worries During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development and Validation of a Caregiver-Report Instrument', Traumatology, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 477-484. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000429

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AU - Alisic, Eva

AU - Cobham, Vanessa E.

AU - Davis, Seetha H.

AU - Donovan, Caroline

AU - Hildenbrand, Aimee K.

AU - Hoehn, Elisabeth

AU - March, Sonja

AU - Miller, Alisa B.

AU - Smith-Thomas, Tess

AU - Wamser-Nanney, Rachel

AU - De Young, Alexandra

PY - 2022/11/7

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N2 - There is little evidence on cognitions that are associated with emotional and behavioral problems in preschoolers during stressful events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents the initial development and validation of a caregiver-report instrument, the Preschooler Stressor-related Thoughts and Worries (PSTW) scale, developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, caregivers from two countries reported on their child’s cognitions at baseline (T0) and three months later (T1; age 3–5 years; Australia: N = 559; United States: N = 346). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with the Australian sample at T0 and confirmed with the U.S. sample at T0. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a one-factor model including 10 items. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis failed to clearly support this structure (comparative fit index =.91, root mean square error of approximation =.11). Construct validity was supported by positive associations between PSTW scores and emotional and behavioral problems. Although the PSTW is a promising instrument to assess preschooler cognitions related to COVID-19, further investigation of its performance in other contexts (e.g., other countries, other stressful or traumatic events) is needed.

AB - There is little evidence on cognitions that are associated with emotional and behavioral problems in preschoolers during stressful events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents the initial development and validation of a caregiver-report instrument, the Preschooler Stressor-related Thoughts and Worries (PSTW) scale, developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, caregivers from two countries reported on their child’s cognitions at baseline (T0) and three months later (T1; age 3–5 years; Australia: N = 559; United States: N = 346). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with the Australian sample at T0 and confirmed with the U.S. sample at T0. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a one-factor model including 10 items. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis failed to clearly support this structure (comparative fit index =.91, root mean square error of approximation =.11). Construct validity was supported by positive associations between PSTW scores and emotional and behavioral problems. Although the PSTW is a promising instrument to assess preschooler cognitions related to COVID-19, further investigation of its performance in other contexts (e.g., other countries, other stressful or traumatic events) is needed.

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Preschooler Stressor-Related Thoughts and Worries During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development and Validation of a Caregiver-Report Instrument

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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