Anthropological and social approach to death anxiety in the state security forces during the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract

The recent events sweeping the planet in all their dimensions (environmental, health, economic, political) contribute to the fact that human beings find themselves devoid of personal resources to deal with them. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, professionals considered essential, such as the Security Forces and Corps, tried to provide the population with a certain degree of well-being and security. However, they paid the high price of many members of this group generating anxiety in the face of death, especially among those on the front line. This study, using a descriptive and mixed methodology, aims to determine the level of death anxiety in a large sample of these professionals (n = 1705) and to carry out an anthropological and social analysis of their perceptions of these events. The results have shown a significant presence of death anxiety in members of the Security Forces and Corps, especially during the pandemic's first phase, allowing for different anthropological interpretations.