# Validation of the inventory: lockdown and its impact on the university Community

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a validated psychological inventory to assess the mental impact of lockdowns on university communities.

## Contribution

The study presents a new, validated inventory (QPIC) specifically designed to measure psychological effects of confinement in academic settings.

## Key findings

- The QPIC inventory was validated with two scales: worry/tension/stress and coping.
- The inventory showed good psychometric properties with high internal consistency.
- The instrument was tested on a sample of 862 students and 229 professors from Spanish and Colombian universities.

## Abstract

Significant consequences of COVID-19 within academic/professional life are, at the psychological level, related to worry, tension, stress; coping strategies and lifestyle changes. This study describes the process of design and validation of an inventory (QPIC), which aims to assess the psychological impact that a situation of confinement can produce among university students and teachers.

Design of the instrument and psychometric tests. A sample of 862 students and 229 professors affiliated to Spanish and Colombian universities was used. Data were collected in April 2020 with the request of the favourable Bioethics Committee IR/2020.

Six experts carried out the content validation. A confirmatory factor analysis of the theoretical dimensions proposed for the scales was performed and the internal consistency of each of the three initial scales was confirmed (0.866, 0.813 and 0.834).

A rigorous and reliable instrument is achieved, consisting of two final scales: (a) Worry, tension and stress scale (b) Coping scale, which helps to measure individual psychological effects in housebound situations. It is an instrument designed, constructed ad hoc to assess the impact of confinement and subjected to validation. The factor structure and reliability of the instrument are examined and good psychometric properties are obtained. The application of this inventory will make it possible to assess the impact on people’s mental health during a period of confinement.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-17562-y.