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Background: Phubbing, a phenomenon of ignoring others in face-to-face conversations due to mobile phone use, can be assessed using a Phubbing Scale (PS). Recently, the PS has been shortened into an eight-item version, the PS-8. However, psychometric properties of the PS-8 among Iranian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani individuals remain understudied, especially using advanced psychometric testing, such as Rasch and network analyses. Methods: Participants residing in Iran, Bangladesh, and Pakistan (n = 1902; 50.4% females; mean age = 26.3 years) completed the PS-8 and the Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF) via an online survey. Network analysis was used to examine if PS-8 items were differentiated from IDS9-SF items; confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the factor structure and measurement invariance of the PS-8; Rasch modeling was used to examine the dimensionality of the PS-8 and differential item functioning (DIF). Results: Network analysis showed that PS-8 items were clustered together with a distance to the IDS9-SF items. The CFA results supported a two-factor structure of the PS-8, and the two-factor structure was found to be invariant across countries and women and men. Rasch model results indicated that the two PS-8 subscales were both unidimensional and did not display DIF across countries and gender/sex. Conclusion: The PS-8 is a feasible and robust instrument for healthcare providers, especially mental health professionals, to quickly assess and evaluate individuals' phubbing behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet Disorder Scale–Short Form (IDS9-SF) is a validated instrument assessing internet disorder which modified the internet gaming disorder criteria proposed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, the relationships between the nine items in the IDS9-SF are rarely investigated. The present study used network analysis to investigate the features of the IDS9-SF among three populations in Bangladesh, Iran, and Pakistan. Data were collected (N = 1901; 957 [50.3%] females; 666 [35.0%] Pakistani, 533 [28.1%] Bangladesh, and 702 [36.9%] Iranians) using an online survey platform (e.g., Google Forms). All the participants completed the IDS9-SF. The central-stability-coefficients of the nine IDS9-SF items were 0.71, 0.89, 0.96, 0.98, 0.98, 1.00, 0.67, 0.79, and 0.91, respectively. The node centrality was stable and interpretable in the network. The Network Comparison Test (NCT) showed that the network structure had no significant differences among Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Iranian participants (p-values = 0.172 to 0.371). Researchers may also use the IDS9-SF to estimate underlying internet addiction for their target participants and further explore and investigate the phenomenon related to internet addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several studies have been conducted in Bangladesh regarding sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, none have utilized a large nationwide sample or presented their findings based on nationwide geographical distribution. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the total sleep duration, night-time sleep, and daily naptime and their associated factors as well as geographic information system (GIS) distribution. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 9730 people in April 2020, including questions relating to socio-demographic variables, behavioral and health factors, lockdown, depression, suicidal ideation, night sleep duration, and naptime duration. Descriptive and inferential statistics, both linear and multivariate regression, and spatial distribution were performed using Microsoft Excel, SPSS, Stata, and ArcGIS software. The results indicated that 64.7% reported sleeping 7–9 h a night, while 29.6% slept less than 7 h nightly, and 5.7% slept more than 9 h nightly. 43.7% reported 30–60 min of daily nap duration, whereas 20.9% napped for more than 1 h daily. Significant predictors of total daily sleep duration were being aged 18–25 years, being unemployed, being married, self-isolating 4 days or more, economic hardship, and depression. For nap duration, being aged 18–25 years, retired, a smoker, and a social media user were at relatively higher risk. The GIS distribution showed that regional division areas with high COVID-19 exposure had higher rates of non-normal sleep duration. Sleep duration showed a regional heterogeneity across the regional divisions of the country that exhibited significant associations with a multitude of socioeconomic and health factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently developed Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a seven-item uni-dimensional scale that assesses the severity of fears of COVID-19. Given the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh, we aimed to translate and validate the FCV-19S in Bangla. The forward-backward translation method was used to translate the English version of the questionnaire into Bangla. The reliability and validity properties of the Bangla FCV-19S were rigorously psychometrically evaluated (utilizing both confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis) in relation to socio-demographic variables, national lockdown variables, and response to the Bangla Health Patient Questionnaire. The sample comprised 8550 Bangladeshi participants. The Cronbach α value for the Bangla FCV-19S was 0.871 indicating very good internal reliability. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the uni-dimensional factor structure of the FCV-19S fitted well with the data. The FCV-19S was significantly correlated with the nine-item Bangla Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-90) (r = 0.406, p < 0.001). FCV-19S scores were significantly associated with higher worries concerning lockdown. Measurement invariance of the FCV-19S showed no differences with respect to age or gender. The Bangla version of FCV-19S is a valid and reliable tool with robust psychometric properties which will be useful for researchers carrying out studies among the Bangla speaking population in assessing the psychological impact of fear from COVID-19 infection during this pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing individuals' knowledge and preventive behaviors towards the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is essential for the related public health surveillance strategies. Although some of the studies were conducted in Bangladesh, none of these studies considered the geographical distribution of knowledge and preventive behaviors towards COVID-19. Therefore, the present nationwide cross-sectional study with 10,067 samples for the first-time aims to assess the knowledge gap by presenting the geographical distribution of the COVID-19 knowledge and preventive behaviors across all administrative districts of Bangladesh. The measures included socio-demographics and questions about knowledge and preventive behaviors related to COVID-19. One-way ANOVA, independent t-test, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. In addition, GIS-based mapping identified district-wise distribution of the outcomes. Results indicated that the overall mean score of knowledge related to COVID-19 was 14.363 ± 3.073, whereas 16.95 ± 2.89 was for preventive behaviors. Participants' being male, being divorced or widowed, consuming alcohol, smoking cigarettes, living in villages, and having no formal education reported lower performing preventive COVID-19 behaviors. Those participants with higher knowledge scores reported higher preventive COVID-19 behaviors (β = 0.053, p<0.001). However, the model predicted only 13.2% of the variation in preventive COVID-19 behaviors while the overall model being significant. The findings suggest that the Bangladeshi government should initiate appropriate far-reaching program of health education focusing on knowledge and preventive behaviors towards COVID-19 at a community level. After all, the strategies to combat COVID-19 will require individuals' involvement to control and prevent the disease outbreak, for which education is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As with other countries worldwide, lockdown measures during the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh were sudden and unexpected, and have the capacity to elicit serious psychological consequences. The present study examined the psychological consequences of COVID-19 in Bangladesh during the lockdown period.Methods: A nationwide online cross-sectional survey study recruited 10,067 individuals covering all 64 districts in Bangladesh via social media (April 1-10, 2020). The survey comprised questions concerning socio-demographics, knowledge of COVID-19, behavior towards COVID-19, fear of COVID-19, insomnia, depression, and suicidal ideation. Logistic regression and structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were performed to identify the risk factors depression and suicidal ideation. Geographical information system (GIS)-based spatial analysis was used to identify district-wise susceptibility to depression and suicidal ideation.Findings: The prevalence rate of depression and suicidal ideation related to COVID-19 was 33% and 5%%. Common risk factors for suicidal ideation and depression included being young, being female, being a cigarette smoker, having comorbid diseases, having high scores on the Fear COVID-19 Scale, and having insomnia symptoms. GIS-based maps detected high depression and suicidal ideation in the capital of Bangladesh and the districts near the capital as well as coastal areas where COVID-19 prevalence was high, as compared with districts with no reported cases.Limitations: Self-reported scales and cross-sectional design of the study.Conclusion: COVID-19 is associated with major psychological impact across Bangladesh, underlining the need of strategically located psychological support measures and improved access to mental health services, especially among women and younger people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]