Abstract
Background
Individual differences in one’s perceived vulnerability to disease are implicated in psychological distress, social and behavioral disease avoidance phenomena. The Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire (PVD) is the most extensively used measure when it comes to assessing subjective vulnerability to infectious diseases. However, this measure is not yet accessible to the Portuguese population. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the PVD with 136 Portuguese participants.
Methods
Factorial, convergent and discriminant validity (of both the scale and between each factor), and reliability analysis were assessed.
Results
A modified bifactorial model, comprised of Perceived Infectability and Germ Aversion factors, was obtained, with acceptable goodness-of-fit indices, adequate convergent and discriminant validity, and good internal consistencies.
Conclusions
Overall, the 10-items European-Portuguese PVD appears to be a reliable and valid measure of one’s perceived vulnerability to disease, with potential relevance for application in both research and clinical practice pertaining to disease-avoidance processes.
Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire: Psychometric Validation with a Portuguese Sample
