CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF THE FEAR OF CONTAMINATION SCALE (FOCS)

Abstract

Fear of contamination occurs when there is an interpretation of contamination as a considerable social threat or an expressive danger to the individual’s physical and/or mental health. This study presents the development and validation, by means of the Item Response Theory (IRT) of an instrument that seeks to assess fear of contamination in different situations. The initial instrument was created after an extensive literature review and is composed of 30 items. A total of 380 individuals participated in the research. The scale was evaluated by expert judges and pilot-tested. Dimensionality was verified by factor analysis, satisfying the criteria for analysis using the IRT. The data were submitted to Samejima’s Gradual Response Model. The instrument, called Fear of Contamination Scale (FOCS), had 18 items in its final version, presenting evidence of validity based on content and internal structure.