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Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behaviors Scale

Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behaviors Scale

What is CRBS

The Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behaviors Scale (CRBS) is a self-report measure of reassurance-seeking behaviors associated with concerns over coronavirus infection. Although it is generally considered helpful to be mindful of signs of COVID-19, excessive reassurance seeking may lead to negative consequences, such as increased anxiety, for some people. Therefore, the CRBS was developed to help clinicians and researchers measure the frequency that a person engages in coronavirus-related, reassurance-seeking behavior.

CRBS Printable PDF

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CRBS Scoring and Interpretation

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Domain

Anxiety, Coronaphobia

What does CRBS measure

The purpose of the evaluation is to:

  • measure reassurance-seeking behaviors associated with concerns over coronavirus infection.

Administration

Self-administered

Type of outcome tool

Clinical

Assessment modes

Questionnaire

Age and eligibility

18 years and above

Estimated time

Less than 2 minutes

Notes

Since the questionnaire relies on client self-report, all responses should be verified by the clinician, and a definitive diagnosis is made on clinical grounds taking into account how well the client understood the questionnaire, as well as other relevant information from the client.

Psychometric properties: The CRBS was developed on a large sample of adults (N = 453) residing across the United States. The CRBS is a reliable instrument (α = .90), with solid factorial (single-factor) and construct (correlated with dysfunctional coronavirus anxiety, generalized anxiety, depression, and health anxiety) validity.

Scoring and interpretation: Each item of the CRBS is rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (nearly every day), based on experiences over the past 2 weeks. This scaling format is consistent with the DSM-5’s cross-cutting symptom measure. Severity scores are obtained by summing responses to all items, with total scores (M = 6.23; SD = 5.51) ranging from 0 to 20. Although clinical cut-off scores have not yet been determined, CRBS total scores ≥ 12 suggest above average reassurance-seeking activity. Clinical judgement should guide the interpretation of the CRBS results.

Attribution and References

Lee, S. A., Jobe, M. C., Mathis, A. A., & Gibbons, J. A. (2020). Incremental validity of coronaphobia: Coronavirus anxiety explains depression, generalized anxiety, and death anxiety. Journal of Anxiety Disorders,74, 1-4.