Brain Fog Scale (BFS): Scale development and validation

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cris.lastimport.scopus2025-08-31T03:14:35Z
dc.abstract.enRecently, we have witnessed a rapid increase in the number of research studies in the area of brain fog, predominantly due to the fact that it is reported to be a frequent long COVID condition. However, the construct of brain fog remains ill-defined and a common method of assessment of the condition is lacking. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to develop and validate a self-report Brain Fog Scale (BFS) for use in clinical and research settings. Participants were 1452 (n = 996, 68.6 % female) Polish university students. The data were collected anonymously through self-completion questionnaires. Results indicate that the 23-item BFS has good psychometric properties. Based on principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results, the scale is best captured by a three-factor solution, with six items loading on the mental fatigue factor, nine items loading on the impaired cognitive acuity factor, and eight items loading on the confusion factor. We found that individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 had significantly higher mental fatigue, impaired cognitive acuity, and confusion scores than matched controls who never tested positive for COVID-19.
dc.affiliationInstitute of Psychology
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii w Warszawie
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii we Wrocławiu
dc.contributor.authorDębowska, Agata
dc.contributor.authorBoduszek, Daniel
dc.contributor.authorOchman, Marek
dc.contributor.authorHrapkowicz, Tomasz
dc.contributor.authorGaweda, Martyna
dc.contributor.authorPondel, Anastazja
dc.contributor.authorHoreczy, Beata
dc.date.access2023-10-03
dc.date.accessioned2023-10-03T12:47:30Z
dc.date.available2023-10-03T12:47:30Z
dc.date.created2023-09-25
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.accesstimebefore_publication
dc.description.physical1-22
dc.description.versionfinal_author
dc.description.volume216
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.paid.2023.112427
dc.identifier.issn0191-8869
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/55
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886923003501
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsCC-BY-NC-ND
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_REPOSITORY
dc.subject.enBrain Fog Scale (BFS)
dc.subject.enCognitive impairment
dc.subject.enLong COVID
dc.subject.enPrincipal component analysis (PCA)
dc.subject.enConfirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
dc.subject.enFuzzy matching
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleBrain Fog Scale (BFS): Scale development and validation
dc.title.journalPersonality and Individual Differences
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle