Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of the Storm Fear Questionnaire in Brazilian Pregnant Women Exposed to an Extreme Climate Event.

Background

Extreme weather events, such as storms, may evoke intense fear in individuals and impair their daily functioning, resulting in significant distress. In Brazil, recent climate-related disasters have highlighted the need to assess storm fear in the population.

Objective

This study aimed to translate, adapt, and validate the Storm Fear Questionnaire (SFQ) for the Brazilian context.

Methods

Translation and adaptation were conducted, followed by back-translation, review by an expert panel, and acceptability assessment by the target population. For the psychometric evaluation, a sample of 268 postpartum women exposed to a flood in southern Brazil completed the SFQ and the following questionnaires: the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), and the Pregnancy Experience Scale-Brief Version (PES-Brief).

Results

The instrument showed excellent acceptability in the target population and good content validity. Regarding criterion validity, Pearson correlations indicated high convergence between the SFQ and PCL-5 and moderate convergence with the BDI-II. Regarding construct validity, SFQ scores were significantly higher among postpartum women who had to leave their homes due to the flood or had their houses affected by floodwaters. The first factor generated in the factor analysis explained 35.2% of the variance, with 14 out of 15 items presenting loadings greater than 0.40. Internal consistency was high (α = 0.88).

Conclusions

The Brazilian version of the SFQ is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing fear of storms. Future studies are needed to evaluate the instrument's applicability in diverse populations across the country.