@article{ref1,
title="A cross-sectional study of COVID-19-related bullying in a sample of Lebanese adults: scale validation, correlates, and mediating effect of fear and anxiety",
journal="BMC psychology",
year="2021",
author="Haddad, Chadia and Sacre, Hala and Bou Malhab, Sandrella and Malaeb, Diana and Saadeh, Danielle and Abou Tayeh, Christine and Salameh, Pascale",
volume="9",
number="1",
pages="e137-e137",
abstract="BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to prolonged exposure to stress and anxiety, raising concerns about a large spectrum of psychological side effects. The primary objective of the study was to validate the COVID-19 Bullying Scale (CBS-11). The second objective was to explore factors associated with COVID-19-related bullying and evaluate the mediating effect of fear and anxiety between knowledge and COVID-19-related bullying. <br><br>METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey conducted between December 20, 2020, and January 5, 2021, recruited 405 Lebanese adults using a snowball sampling technique. The CBS-11, an 11-item tool specifically created for this study, was used to measure bullying behaviors towards COVID-19 patients. <br><br>RESULTS: All items of the CBS-11 converged over a 1-factor solution with an eigenvalue over 1, accounting for a variance of 75.16%. The scale has a high Cronbach's alpha (.974), indicating excellent reliability. A positive correlation was found between the COVID-19 bullying scale and fear, anxiety, and stigma discrimination. The logistic regression showed that higher fear of COVID-19 (ORa = 1.04), a positive attitude toward COVID-19 preventive measures and hygiene recommendations (ORa = 1.18), higher stigma discrimination scores (ORa = 1.09), and having a health professional family member (ORa = 2.42) were significantly associated with bullying. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Our main findings showed that the CBS-11 could be an efficient tool to measure bullying behaviors toward COVID-19 patients. Stigma discrimination and fear from COVID-19 were associated with higher bullying attitudes. Future prospective studies are needed to understand better the factors related to bullying among adults during a pandemic, such as COVID-19.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2050-7283",
doi="10.1186/s40359-021-00643-1",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00643-1"
}