Arabic Scale Of Death Anxiety Research Articles

ROLE OF RESILIENCE IN RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEATH ANXIETY AND DISSOCIATIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG BEREAVED EARLY ADULTS

Current study aimed to explore the role of resilience in relationship between death anxiety and dissociative symptoms among bereaved early adults. Correlation research design was applied. Sample consisted (n =250) participants with age ranging between 18-30 years (Mean =21.39; SD =2.52). Sample included two categories (n =150) bereaved with having equal proportion of men (n =75) and women (n =75), who have experienced the death of one or both of the parents during the two years and control sample consisted of (n=100) non-bereaved, male (n =50) and female (n =50). English version of Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA), Severity of Dissociative Symptoms Adult, Brief Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-B) and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) were administered to the participants. The results depicted positive correlation between death anxiety and dissociative symptoms, whereas death anxiety was inversely correlated resilience. Multiple regression analysis revealed that death anxiety was a significant predictor of dissociative symptoms. It was also indicated from the result that the bereaved adults experienced more dissociative symptoms and were less resilient as compared to non-bereaved adults. However bereaved women tended to be more resilient as compared to bereaved men. The finding of the study might provide directions in designing interventions for the bereaved to improve resilience through the use of various strategies. Keyword: Bereavement, Resilience, Death Anxiety, Dissociative Symptoms

Cancer information overload and death anxiety predict health anxiety.

We aimed to investigate the relationship between health anxiety, cancer information overload and death anxiety in caregivers of inpatient cancer patients. A total of 92 inpatient cancer patients' caregivers were included the study. A sociodemographic information form, Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA), Health Anxiety Scale (HAS), Cancer Information Overload Scale (CIO) were given to participants to respond. Participants with high HAS scores were compared with those with low HAS scores; the rate of employed persons was less (n=16, 34.8% vs. n=30, 65.2%, p=0.006), income status was more likely to be very low/low (n=23, 50.0% vs. n=6, 13.0%, p<0.001) and research on cancer was more common (n=39, 84.8%, p<0.001). Median (IQR) CIO [24.0 (21.75-28.0) vs. 13.5 (11.0-18.25), p<0.001] and ASDA total [69.0 (62.0-77.0) vs. 41.0 (33.75-58.0), p<0.001] scores were higher in the group with high HAS score than in the group with low HAS score. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that a moderate/high-income status [odds ratio (OR) 0.114, 0.013-0.986 95% confidence interval (CI), p=0.049], CIO score (OR 1.354, 1.106-1.658 95% CI, p=0.003) and ASDA total score (OR 1.079, 1.021-1.141 95% CI, p=0.007) were independent predictive factors for a high HAS score. Death anxiety and CIO are crucial determinants of health anxiety. More research in multi-dimensional design is needed to obtain additional information about the relationship between death anxiety, CIO and health anxiety.

Arabic COVID-19 Psychological Distress Scale: development and initial validation

ObjectiveTo develop a psychometrically reliable instrument to assess psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic across Arab countries.DesignThe new instrument was developed through the review of relevant literature. We adapted multiple...

Association of Death Anxiety with Spiritual Well-Being and Religious Coping in Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This descriptive study aimed to examine the association of death anxiety with religious coping and spiritual well-being among 248 community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief Arab religious coping scale, the Arabic version of the spiritual well-being Scale, and the Arabic Scale of death anxiety were used to measure religious coping, spiritual well-being, and death anxiety, respectively. The majority of the participating older adults were found to have low levels of religious coping and spiritual well-being and high levels of death anxiety. Further, in comparison to male older adults, female older adults were found to have higher levels of religious coping and lower levels of death anxiety. Moreover, in comparison to widowed older adults, married older adults were found to have higher levels of death anxiety. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, religious coping, and spiritual well-being were found to be significant predictors of death anxiety in older adults.

Structure of Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety With Chinese College Students: A Bifactor Approach.

The Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA), as one of the most widely used measures of death anxiety (DA), has increasingly been applied in many studies. However, the structures derived from different studies are highly inconsistent. In this study, both traditional and novel (bifactor) modeling approaches were used, to investigate the most optimal structure of the ASDA in a sample of 984 Chinese college students. After a series of comparisons, the results showed that the bifactor model, with a dominant general DA factor and three distinct sub-dimensions, was the most optimal measurement structure, and measurement invariance of this bifactor model between sexes was also confirmed. Based on the implications of this bifactor model, the discussion was focused mainly on whether distinct dimensions should be interpreted or not. Some strengths and limitations of the study were also discussed at the end of the paper.

Death Anxiety in Muslim Iranians: A Comparison Between Youths, Middle Adults, and Late Adults

The study aimed to examine the levels of death anxiety between three age groups and compare gender-related differences among Iranian population. A total of 453 participants (252 college students, 55 middle-aged, and 146 old-aged) answered the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA). Significant differences were found between youths and old-aged samples and between middle-aged and old-aged samples on the ASDA scale. Old-aged persons showed more death anxiety than youths and middle-aged persons. There were also significant differences between men and women in total scores of the ASDA scale; men had more death anxiety than women. There were significant associations between age, gender, and death anxiety total scores. Limitations of the study include the use of a self-report scale, selection of a nongeneral nonclinical population, a Muslim religion, and an Iranian culture. Present results can be considered for psychological therapies for reducing death anxiety and pathways to death acceptance in Iranian people and for carrying out cross-cultural studies in other Asian, Arabic, Eastern, and Western countries with shared and nonshared religions and cultures in future studies.

The Psychometric Parameters of the Farsi Form of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety.

The aim of this study was to describe the psychometric properties of the Farsi Form of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA). The original scale was first translated into Farsi by language experts using the back translation procedure and then administered to a total of 252 Iranian college students and 52 psychiatric outpatients from psychiatric and psychological clinics. The one-week test-retest reliability of the Farsi version in a sample of college students was 0.78, indicating good temporal stability and corroborating the trait-like nature of scores. Cronbach's α was 0.90 for the college students and 0.92 for the psychiatric outpatients, indicating high internal consistency. Scale scores correlated 0.46 with Death Obsession Scale scores, 0.56 with Death Depression Scale scores, 0.41 with Death Anxiety Scale scores, and 0.40 with Wish to be Dead Scale scores, indicating good construct and criterion-related validity. A principal component analysis with a Varimax rotation yielded four factors in the sample of Iranian college students, indicating a lack of homogeneity in the content of the scale. Male students obtained a significant higher mean score than did females. It was concluded that the Farsi ASDA had good internal consistency, temporal stability, criterion-related validity, and a factor structure reflecting important features of death anxiety. In general, the Farsi ASDA could be recommended for use in research on death anxiety among Iranian college students and psychiatric outpatients.

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety.

BackgroundDeath anxiety is regarded as a risk and maintaining factor of psychopathology. While the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA) is a brief, commonly used assessment, such a tool is lacking in Chinese clinical practice.AimThe current study was conducted to develop a Chinese version of the ASDA, i.e., the ASDA(C), using a multistage back-translation technique, and examine the psychometric properties of the scale.MethodsA total of 1372 participants from hospitals and universities located in three geographic areas of China were recruited for this study. To calculate the criterion-related validity of the ASDA(C) compared to the Chinese version of the longer-form Multidimensional Orientation toward Dying and Death Inventory (MODDI-F/chin), 49 undergraduates were randomly assigned to complete both questionnaires. Of the total participants, 56 were randomly assigned to retake the ASDA(C) in order to estimate the one-week, test-retest reliability of the ASDA(C).ResultsThe overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.91 for the whole scale. The one-week, test-retest reliability was 0.96. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed three factors, “fear of dead people and tombs,” “fear of lethal disease,” and “fear of postmortem events,” accounted for 57.09% of the total variance. Factor structure for the three-factor model was sound. The correlation between the total scores on the ASDA(C) and the MODDI-F/chin was 0.54, indicating acceptable concurrent validity.ConclusionsASDA(C) has adequate psychometrics and properties that make it a reliable and valid scale to assess death anxiety in Mandarin-speaking Chinese.

Death Anxiety, Reliability, Validity, and Factorial Structure of the Farsi Form of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety in Iranian Old-Aged Persons

The present study is aimed at examining the level of death anxiety and the sex-related differences among old-aged Iranian individuals sample to compare the old-aged persons with young college students and to explore the psychometric properties of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA) factors in old-aged sample. A sample of 146 volunteer Iranian individuals took part in the study. The mean ages were 68.58 (SD = 7.10), men 68.81 (SD = 7.44) and women 68.28 (SD = 6.76), respectively. The mean score of the ASDA was 51.09 (SD = 20.19). Cronbach's alpha of the ASDA was found to be high (0.94); and Spearman-Brown coefficient was 0.92. Women had a significantly higher mean total score on the ASDA. Old-aged individuals had a significantly higher mean ASDA total score than younger college students (M age = 25.77). The factor analysis of the ASDA items yielded three factors accounting for 67.88% of the total variance labeled (F1) fear of dead people and tombs; (F2) fear of lethal disease and postmortem events; and (F3) death fear. These factors were highly replicable with previous factors extracted from a middle-aged Kuwaiti sample. On the basis of the present results, there are the following three general conclusions: death anxiety is not significantly correlated with age; the sex-related differences on death anxiety are striking in the Iranian samples; and the ASDA has a highly replicable factor structure among two Iranian and Arab countries.

Reliability and Factorial Structure of the Farsi Version of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety in an Iranian Middle-Aged Sample.

The present study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA) in an Iranian middle-aged sample. A sample of 55 volunteer Iranian persons took part in the study. Cronbach's alpha of the ASDA was found to be high (0.91) and Spearman-Brown and Guttman Split-Half coefficients were 0.86. The factor analysis of the ASDA items yielded five factors accounting for 72.49% of the total variance and labeled (F1) fear of death and fear of dead people; (F2) fear of postmortem events and fear of tombs; (F3) fear of lethal disease; (F4) preoccupation with after death, and death fear in sleep; and (F5) fear of deprivation of own ones. The ASDA has a good validity and reliability, and it can be used in clinical, educational, and research settings.

Death Distress among Two Samples of Lower and Higher Stress in Health Care Professionals

A convenience sample of 195 volunteer nurses working in different medical departments was recruited (77 Kuwaiti, 118 non-Kuwaiti from 10 countries; 55 men, 140 women; ages 25 to 51 years). Participants responded in English to the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety, the Death Depression Scale, the Death Obsession Scale, and the Reasons for Death Fear Scale. Pearson correlations between the four scales were statistically significant and positive. The only significant sex difference was on the Death Depression Scale with men reporting more stress. It was also found that nurses dealing with critical cases and working in higher stress departments (Intensive Care Unit and Heart Department) obtained higher mean scores on the Death Depression Scale, Death Obsession Scale, and Reasons for Death Fear Scale than their counterparts working in lower stress departments such as internal medicine. It was concluded that working in higher stress nursing departments affected death distress. Nurses with high scores on death distress may benefit from a thanatopsis program. There is reason to believe that this may ameliorate relations with patients.

Death Anxiety as Related to Somatic Symptoms in Two Cultures

Two undergraduate samples from Kuwait (52 men, 157 women; M age = 21.2 yr., SD =2.1) and the USA (46 men, 145 women; M age = 22.4 yr., SD = 5.3) answered the Somatic Symptoms Inventory, the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety, and the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale. The Kuwaiti sample obtained significantly higher mean scores on all the scales than the American sample. Scores on the Somatic Symptoms Inventory were positively correlated with Death Anxiety scores, indicating that people who enjoy good physical health are less concerned with death.

The Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety: Some Results from East and West

The twofold objectives of the present study were (a) to examine sex-related differences on the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA) in seven Arabic and Western countries, and (b) to compare the mean ASDA scores among Arabic samples (Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Syria) with Western samples (Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States). A total sample of 2978 volunteer undergraduates participated in this study. They resided in their countries of origin and responded to the scale in their respective native-speaking languages. Sex-related differences on the ASDA were statistically significant in all countries (except the United Kingdom), with women having higher mean scores than their male peers. It was found that all the Arab samples, except the Lebanese men, had significantly higher mean ASDA scores than their Western counterparts. These differences might be explained either in the light of higher emotionally responsiveness of the Arab samples, differences in individualism and collectivism and in secularism in the countries, and the lower per capita income in the Arab countries except in Kuwait.

Religiosity and Death Anxiety Using Non-Western Scales

In a sample of 43 male undergraduates, scores on religiosity in a Muslim context and death anxiety (Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety) were not associated.

Death Anxiety in Kuwaiti Middle-Aged Personnel

The present study aimed to examine the level of death anxiety, the sex-related differences among a middle-aged Kuwaiti personnel sample, and to explore the replicability of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA) factors. A sample of 236 volunteer Kuwaiti personnel took part in the study. The mean ages of men and women were 41.5 (SD = 7.5) and 40.9 (SD = 7.1), respectively. The alpha reliability of the ASDA was found to be high (.93). Women had a significantly higher mean total score on the ASDA as well as on 17 out of its 20 items. Middle-aged personnel had a significantly lower mean ASDA total score than younger college students (M age = 22). The factor analysis of the ASDA items yielded three factors: fear of dead people and tombs; fear of postmortem events; and fear of lethal disease. These factors were highly replicable with previous factors extracted from a Kuwaiti college student sample. On the basis of the present findings, there are three general conclusions as follows: death anxiety is negatively associated with age; the sex-related differences on death anxiety are salient in the Arab samples; and the ASDA has a highly replicable factor structure.

Love of Life and Death Distress: Two Separate Factors

The objectives of the current investigation were threefold: a) to explore the gender differences on love of life (a new construct in the well-being domain) and death distress (death anxiety, death depression, and death obsession); b) to explore the relationship between the scales of these constructs; and c) to examine the factorial structure of these scales. The sample was 245 volunteer Kuwaiti college students (53.5% women). Their mean age was 21.9 (SD = 2.3). They responded to the Love of Life Scale, the Death Anxiety Scale, the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety, the Death Depression Scale-Revised, and the Death Obsession Scale. Gender differences on love of life were not significant. However, women had significantly higher mean scores for the four death distress scales than did their male counterparts. All the correlations between love of life and the death distress scales were not significant except one pertaining to love of life and death depression (negative) in women. Two oblique factors were extracted: death distress and love of life. It was concluded that these constructs represent two distinct and independent factors. Counselors and clinicians dealing with death distress would find that it is not associated with love of life.

Four Year Cross-Sectional Comparison of Death Distress among Nursing College Students

The aim of the present study was to determine the change in death distress (anxiety, depression, and obsession) among four cross-sectional samples during four years of academic study in two Arabic woman nursing colleges ( N = 570). The Templer's Death Anxiety Scale, the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety, the Death Depression Scale-Revised, and the Death Obsession Scale were administered to students in small group sessions. It was found that the only significant difference was between freshmen and sophomores on death obsession. We tend to consider this single difference as negligible. In general, the differences between the four groups on the three scales of death anxiety and death depression were not significant. That is, no significant change in mean scores on these scales had happened over time, as a result of shifting from theoretical study courses to practical ones, including dealing with the terminally-ill patients. The main aspect to elucidate this finding was the insufficient number and hours of practicum courses in general and, in particular, the experience to deal with the critical patients was not sufficient.

Satisfaction with Life and Death Distress

A convenient sample of 568 Egyptian female nursing undergraduates (M age = 19.5 yr., SD = 1.6) was recruited. Their scores on the Satisfaction with Life Scale were correlated with scores on the Death Anxiety Scale, Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety, Death Depression Scale-Revised, and the Death Obsession Scale. Pearson correlations were significant but small [-.15, -.18, -.14 (p < .01) and -.08 (ns), respectively], indicating their predictive and practical value is negligible.

Happiness and Death Distress: Two Separate Factors

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between happiness and death distress (death anxiety, death depression, and death obsession) in 275 volunteer Kuwaiti undergraduates. They responded to the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Death Anxiety Scale, the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety, the Death Depression Scale—Revised, and the Death Obsession Scale. Gender differences were significant on all 5 scales, with women showing a lower mean score of happiness and a higher mean score for the death distress. All the correlations between happiness and the death distress scales were non-significant except one pertaining to happiness and death depression (negative) in women. Two oblique factors were extracted: death distress and happiness. Therefore, these constructs represent 2 distinct and independent factors.

DEATH ANXIETY IN CLINICAL AND NON-CLINICAL GROUPS

ABSTRACT The Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA) was administered, individually, to 7 groups (N = 765) of Egyptian normal participants (non-clinical), anxiety disorder patients, and patients suffering from schizophrenia (males and females), and addicts (males only). They were generally matched as groups according to age, occupation, and education. The female and male anxiety disorder patients means were, respectively, significantly higher than the means of the other 5 groups on the ASDA, while male schizophrenics attained the lowest mean score in proportion to all the other 6 groups, including the non-clinical 2 groups. All female groups have higher mean scores than their male counterparts.