VALIDATION STUDY OF THE SPANISH VERSION OF THE PANDEMIC (COVID-19) ANXIETY TRAVEL SCALE IN PERU

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed tourists' thoughts, feelings and ways of travelling. In this regard, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Pandemic Anxiety Travel Scale (PATS) using CTT and IRT. A total of 454 participants, with a mean age of 31.4 years (SD = 15.7), completed the PATS, a sociodemographic questionnaire, a measure of perceived health risk, and the Preventive COVID-19 Infection Behaviors Scale. CFA models, Cronbach's alpha and the Composite Reliability Index coefficients were used to estimate reliability. In addition, Item Response Theory (IRT) methods were employed, specifically, the Graded Response Model. The results of the CFA indicated the presence of a single factor for the PATS and high reliability. The IRT results suggest that the PATS items may significantly differentiate responses based on trait level and that a person with low frequency of travel anxiety symptoms during the pandemic will tend to choose the lower response alternatives. Likewise, age, gender, health risk perception, and COVID-19 preventive behaviors significantly predict travel anxiety. In conclusion, the PATS is a brief and reliable measure that appears to be a valid measure of travel anxiety symptoms in the general Peruvian population during the pandemic.