COVID-19 Life Changes Scale

Heather Prime, Mark Wade, Shealyn S. May, Jenny Jenkins, and Dillon T. Browne (2021)

To measure the impacts and stressors related to the COVID-19 Pandemic, our team created the COVID-19 Life Changes Scale. 

This scale is comprised of four pre-scale items, and three sub-scales:

For scale items and further information, please see below.

***This scale has been created by and is the property of Heather Prime, Mark Wade, Shealyn S. May, Jenny Jenkins, and Dillon T. Browne. Use of this scale, in partial or complete form, is not allowed without the authors' permission. To request permission to use this scale, please contact our team at familypsyclelab.ca***

Pre-Scale Items

The following questions will ask questions about you and your household in regards to the COVID-19 disruption. Please read each question carefully before responding.

Has anyone in your household been diagnosed with COVID-19?

  • Yes - Myself
  • Yes - One family member
  • Yes - Multiple family members
  • No

Has any of your extended family members been diagnosed with COVID-19?

  • Yes - One extended family member
  • Yes - Multiple extended family members
  • No

Are you or anyone in your household vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 or experiencing severe side effects from COVID-19 due to health-based risk factors (e.g., being an older adult, underlying medical conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, or cancer, or a compromised immune system)?

  • Yes - Myself
  • Yes - One family member
  • Yes - Multiple family members
  • No

Do you or your partner work in a position that is considered high risk for the contraction of COVID-19 (i.e., health care workers, public transit operators, delivery persons, garbage collectors, police/first responders, etc.)?

  • Yes, I do
  • Yes, my partner does
  • Yes, both my partner and I do
  • No

Covid-19 Family Stessor Scale (COFASS)

This sub-scale was tested on 549 caregivers (68% female, 73% White-European; Country of Residence: 76% United Kingdom, 19% United States) in our CRAMPED Study. Principal components analyses revealed that a single component explained 23.95% (λ = 5.99) of the variation and the items demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .85).

Since the COVID-19 disruptions, have any of the following changes occurred in your household?

Responses: Not True [1], Somewhat True [2], Very True [3]

Original Scale Items Chaos Subscale Income Subscale Family Subscale Removed
1. Significant decrease (over 10%) in household income.   X    
2. Gone into financial debt.   X    
3. Unable to pay rent or mortgage.       X
4. Job disruption or loss (myself or my partner).    X    
5. Could not access essential supplies (e.g., sanitizer, soap, toilet paper, etc.)

X

      
6. Overwhelmed by the amount of COVID-19 news coverage. X      
7. Applied for employment insurance or government assistance.   X    
8. Became concerned about providing for family.   X    
9. Became stressed by crowded grocery stores and shopping centres. X      
10. Lost substantial money in the stock market (over 10% of holdings).      

X
11. Working from home while meeting family demands.       X
12. Closed a business or laid off employees.       X
13. Experienced increased altercations with family members.     X  
14. Experienced increased emotional withdrawal from family members.     X  
15. Children have become harder to manage.     X  
16. Inability to access educational materials for children.     X  
17. More relationship conflicts with my partner (if I am in a relationship)     X  
18. Struggled emotionally with the loss of routine.       X
19. Difficulty developing a new family and/or personal routine.     X  
20. Felt crowded in my living space.     X  
21. Significant anxiety/panic about danger to myself or loved ones. X      
22. Separated from family or loved ones due to COVID-19.       X
23. Lost family or a loved one due to a COVID-19 related death.       X
24. I have taken on increased responsibilities, beyond those of my family members.       X
25. Other disruptions not listed here.       X

This scale has been validated and has been published: 

Prime, H., Wade, M., May, S. S., Jenkins, J. M., & Browne, D. T. (2021). The COVID-19 Family Stressor Scale: Validation and measurement invariance in female and male caregivers. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.669106

Covid-19 Benefits and Coping Scale

Since the COVID-19 disruptions, have any of the following changes occurred in your household?

Responses: Not True [1], Somewhat True [2], Very True [3]

  1. Working from home.
  2. Engaged in or developed new family activities (e.g., movies, games, outdoor activities, meals, chores, etc.).
  3. Been more physically active.
  4. Used faith/spirituality/religion as a means of coping.
  5. Created new family rules.
  6. Children accessed educational materials online.
  7. Started homeschooling. 
  8. Found new meaning in life.
  9. Felt less stressed with regards to work.
  10. Prioritized family more than work.
  11. Found more time to rest and be quiet.
  12. Reorganized living situation to facilitate working.
  13. Found work as a useful distraction from COVID-19.
  14. Other benefits or coping strategies not listed here. 

Covid-19 Social Distancing Scale

Since the COVID-19 disruptions, have any of the following changes occurred in your household?

Responses: Not True [1], Somewhat True [2], Very True [3]

  1. I have found it hard to stay home or follow "social distancing" guidelines. *
  2. I break the social distancing rules. *
  3. I still see people other than those who live in my house. *
  4. I have strictly followed social distancing guidelines.
  5. I have only attended public spaces since the outbreak when necessary (e.g., grocery shopping, pharmacy, etc.)

* Reverse-coded Items. 

Property of Heather Prime, Mark Wade, Shealyn S. May, Jenny Jenkins, and Dillon T. Browne. Published on this site: November 18, 2020. Updated: February 10, 2025.