Assessing Death Anxiety and its Correlates among Community Dwelling Elderly
Keywords:
Death anxiety, Prevalence, Elderly, Coping, Contributing factors
Abstract
This descriptive study was designed to appraise the prevalence of death anxiety and its correlates among older adult. It was conducted on 150 elderly residents of the district Sargodha, who were chosen through multistage sampling. Interview Schedule, Death Anxiety Scale-15, and Coping Style Scale were used as instruments. The findings of the study indicated a pervasive prevalence of death anxiety among elderly. The majority of elderly reported moderate level of death anxiety and slightly less than one forth revealed lower level of death anxiety. The results of T-test analysis showed no variation gender wise and community wise on death anxiety. According to the research findings, both elderly men and women experienced the same level of death anxiety. However, illiterate elderly exhibited more death anxiety as compared to literate elderly. The findings regarding the factors associated with death anxiety indicates that fear of being aged, fear of loneliness, worry about leaving loved ones behind, fear of being destroyed and decaying of dead body after death, lack of religiosity, lower self esteem and poor physical conditions were the correlated factors that caused death anxiety among elderly. Moreover, chi square results revealed that age, qualification, family structure, number of family members (family size) and marital status had significant association with the level of death anxiety. In case of coping, the elderly are more prone to adopt emotion focused coping rather problem solving coping. To alleviate death anxiety in older adults, it is necessary to manage the contributing factors.
References
Aghajani, M., Valiee, S., & Tol, A. (2010). Death anxiety amongst nurses in critical care and general wards. Iran Journal Of Nursing, 23(67), 59-68.
Ahmadi, MH. (2014). Pathology of stress and control methods: How to be calm (Persian) (1st ed.). Nazar Abad: Siyadat.
Alvi, A. S., Tarar, M. G., Ahmed, R. I., & Kelly, T. (2021). Coping Strategies among Pakistani Elderly: Coping in Everyday Life and in Stressful Conditions. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 18(4), 737-749.
Atchley, R. C., & Barusch, A. S. (2004). Social forces and aging: An introduction to social gerontology 910th Ed.). Belmont, CA:Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Azaiza, F., Ron, P., Shoham, M., & Gigini, I. (2010). Death and dying anxiety among elderly Arab Muslims in Israel. Death studies, 34(4), 351-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481181003613941
Bahrami, M., & Behbahani, M. A. (2019). The effect of a health literacy promotion program on the level of health literacy and death anxiety in women with breast cancer. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 24(4), 286-290.
Cochran, D. L., Brown, D. R., & McGregor, K. C. (1999). Racial differences in the multiple social roles of older women: Implications for depressive symptoms. The Gerontologist, 39(4), 465-472. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/39.4.465
Curcio, C. S. S., & Moreira-Almeida, A. (2019). Who does believe in life after death? Brazilian data from clinical and non-clinical samples. Journal of Religion and Health, 58(4), 1217-1234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0723-y
Dadfar, M., & Lester, D. (2015). Death concern and death obsession in Iranian nurses. Psychological Reports, 116(3), 704-709. https:// doi.org/10.2466/12.13.PR0.116k30w5
Dawane, J., Pandit, V., & Rajopadhye, B. (2014). Functional assessment of elderly in Pune, India: Preliminary study. Journal of Gerontol Geriatric Research, 3(3), 155-156. https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-7182.1000155
Ghufran, M., & Ansari, S. (2008). Impact of widowhood on religiosity and death anxiety among senior citizens. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 34(1), 175-180.
Gulzar, F., Zafar, I. M., Ahmad, A., & Ali, T. (2008). Socioeconomic problems of senior citizens and their adjustment in Punjab, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 45(1), 138-144.
Hedayati, E., Hazrati, M., Momen Nasab, M., Shokoohi, H., & Afkari, F. (2016). The relationship between spiritual well-being and anxiety of aged people admitted in coronary care units. Iranian Journal of Ageing, 11(3), 432-439. https://doi.org/10.21859/sija-1103432
Hamid, M., Jam, F. A., & Mehmood, S. (2019). Psychological Empowerment and Employee Attitudes: Mediating Role of Intrinsic Motivation. International Journal of Business and Economic Affairs, 4(6), 300–314. https://doi.org/10.24088/ijbea-2019-46005
Haq, I. U., Ramay, M. I., Rehman, M. A. U., & Jam, F. A. (2010). Big five personality and perceived customer relationship management. Research Journal of International Studies, 15, 37-45. (JAHMS)
Haroon, W., Khawaja, A. O., & Ghayas, S. (2018). Ego integrity, physical health status and death anxiety in older adults. Journal of Behavioural Sciences, 28(1), 18-32.
Help Age International (2019). Pakistan. Retrieved from https://www.helpage.org/where-we-work/south-asia/pakistan/
Iverach, L., Menzies, R. G., & Menzies, R. E. (2014). Death anxiety and its role in psychopathology: Reviewing the status of a transdiagnostic construct. Clinical psychology review, 34(7), 580-593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2014.09.002
Jalal, S., & Younis, M. Z. (2014). Aging and elderly in Pakistan. Ageing International, 39(1), 4-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-01-9153-4
John, M., Binoy, S., Reddy, J. V., Passyavula, S. K., & Reddy, V. P. (2016). A study to assess the level of death anxiety among elderly people at selected area at Bhopal. International Journal of Medical and Health Research, 2(5), 23-4.
Jam, F. A. (2019). Crypto currency‒a new phenomenon in monetary circulation. Central Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(1), 39-46.
Jam, F. A., Rauf, A. S., Husnain, I., Bilal, H. Z., Yasir, A., & Mashood, M. (2014). Identify factors affecting the management of political behavior among bank staff. African Journal of Business Management, 5(23), 9896-9904.
Lazarus, R. S. (1998). The stress and coping paradigm. Fifty years of the research and theory of RS Lazarus: An analysis of historical and perennial Issues. New York; NY: Psychology Press.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1998). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. New York, NY: Springer.
Majidi, A., & Moradi, O. (2018). Effect of teaching the components of spiritual intelligence on death anxiety in the elderly. Iranian Journal of Ageing, 13(1), 110-123. https://doi.org/10.21859/sija.13.1.110
Mazhar, F., Jam, F. A., & Anwar, F. (2012). Consumer trust in e-commerce: A study of consumer perceptions in Pakistan. African Journal of Business Management, 6(7), 2516-2528.
McMordie, W. R. (1979). Improving measurement of death anxiety. Psychological Reports, 44(3), 975-980. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1979.44.3.975
Musaiger, A. O., & D'Souza, R. (2009). Role of age and gender in the perception of aging: A community-based survey in Kuwait. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 48(1), 50-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2007.10.002
Nabavi, S. H., Alipour, F., Hejazi, A., & Rashedi, V. (2014). Relationship between social support and mental health in older adults. Medical Journal of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 57(7), 841-846.
Nayak, S., Mohapatra, M. K., & Panda, B. (2019). Prevalence of and factors contributing to anxiety, depression and cognitive disorders among urban elderly in Odisha-a study through the health systems' Lens. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 80, 38-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2018.09.008
Nia, H. S., Ebadi, A., Lehto, R. H., Mousavi, B., Peyrovi, H., & Chan, Y. H. (2014). Reliability and validity of the persian version of templer death anxiety scale-extended in veterans of Iran-Iraq warfare. Iranian journal of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, 8(4), 29.
Palant, J. (2007). SPSS survival manual. A step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS for Windows third edition. New York, NY: McGrawHill.
Perna, L., Mielck, A., Lacruz, M. E., Emeny, R. T., Holle, R., Breitfelder, A., & Ladwig, K. H. (2012). Socioeconomic position, resilience, and health behaviour among elderly people. International journal of public health, 57(2), 341-349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0294-0
Rashedi, V., Gharib, M., Rezaei, M., & Yazdani, A. A. (2013). Social support and anxiety in the elderly of Hamedan, Iran. Archives of Rehabilitation (Joutrnal of Rehabilitation, 14(2), 110-115.
Sadaf, S., Loona, M. I., & Waqar, S. (2021). Religiosity and death anxiety among madrasa and college students. Rawal Medical Journal, 46(3), 664-667.
Sharif Nia, H., Ebadi, A., Lehto, R. H., & Peyrovi, H. (2015). The experience of death anxiety in Iranian war veterans: A phenomenology study. Death studies, 39(5), 281-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2014.991956
Shoaib, M., Khan, S., & Khan, M. H. (2011). Family support and health status of elderly people: A case study of district gujrat, Pakistan. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 10(4), 519-525.
Sridevi G, Swathi P. (2014). Death anxiety and death depression among institutionalized and non-Institutionalized elders. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(10),1-8.
Sridevi, G., & Swathi, P. (2014). Depression and suicidal ideation among institutionalized and non-institutionalized elders. International Multidisciplinary E-journal, 3(4), 213-224.
Stuart, G. W., & Laraia, M. T. (2012). Principles and Practice of Psychiatric Nursing (10th ed.). Missouri, MO: Mosby
Suhail, K., & Akram, S. (2002). Correlates of death anxiety in Pakistan. Death studies, 26(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481180210146
Weiss, B. J., & Hope, D. A. (2011). A preliminary investigation of worry content in sexual minorities. Journal of anxiety disorders, 25(2),244-250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.09.009
Wu, A. M., Tang, C. S., & Kwok, T. C. (2002). Death anxiety among Chinese elderly people in Hong Kong. Journal of Aging and Health, 14(1), 42-56. https://doi.org/10.1177/089826430201400103
Yochim BP.(2017). The Psychology of Aging (1st ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Zahedi Bidgol, Z., Tagharrobi, Z., Sooki, Z., & Sharifi, K. (2020). Death anxiety and its predictors among older adults. Journal of Holistic Nursing and Midwifery, 30(2), 101-110. https://doi.org/10.32598/jhnm.30.2.101
Zamaan, N. I., & Ali, U. (2015). Validity Assessment of Coping Styles Scale (CSS). Pakistan Journal of Psychology, 46(1), 53-64.
Zare Marzouni, H., Karimi, M., Narimi, Z., Ghasemi, A., & Janaki, M. (2016). Effects of education on reduction of stress and anxiety of orthopedic surgery. Navid No, 19(62), 62-68.
Ahmadi, MH. (2014). Pathology of stress and control methods: How to be calm (Persian) (1st ed.). Nazar Abad: Siyadat.
Alvi, A. S., Tarar, M. G., Ahmed, R. I., & Kelly, T. (2021). Coping Strategies among Pakistani Elderly: Coping in Everyday Life and in Stressful Conditions. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 18(4), 737-749.
Atchley, R. C., & Barusch, A. S. (2004). Social forces and aging: An introduction to social gerontology 910th Ed.). Belmont, CA:Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Azaiza, F., Ron, P., Shoham, M., & Gigini, I. (2010). Death and dying anxiety among elderly Arab Muslims in Israel. Death studies, 34(4), 351-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481181003613941
Bahrami, M., & Behbahani, M. A. (2019). The effect of a health literacy promotion program on the level of health literacy and death anxiety in women with breast cancer. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 24(4), 286-290.
Cochran, D. L., Brown, D. R., & McGregor, K. C. (1999). Racial differences in the multiple social roles of older women: Implications for depressive symptoms. The Gerontologist, 39(4), 465-472. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/39.4.465
Curcio, C. S. S., & Moreira-Almeida, A. (2019). Who does believe in life after death? Brazilian data from clinical and non-clinical samples. Journal of Religion and Health, 58(4), 1217-1234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0723-y
Dadfar, M., & Lester, D. (2015). Death concern and death obsession in Iranian nurses. Psychological Reports, 116(3), 704-709. https:// doi.org/10.2466/12.13.PR0.116k30w5
Dawane, J., Pandit, V., & Rajopadhye, B. (2014). Functional assessment of elderly in Pune, India: Preliminary study. Journal of Gerontol Geriatric Research, 3(3), 155-156. https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-7182.1000155
Ghufran, M., & Ansari, S. (2008). Impact of widowhood on religiosity and death anxiety among senior citizens. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 34(1), 175-180.
Gulzar, F., Zafar, I. M., Ahmad, A., & Ali, T. (2008). Socioeconomic problems of senior citizens and their adjustment in Punjab, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 45(1), 138-144.
Hedayati, E., Hazrati, M., Momen Nasab, M., Shokoohi, H., & Afkari, F. (2016). The relationship between spiritual well-being and anxiety of aged people admitted in coronary care units. Iranian Journal of Ageing, 11(3), 432-439. https://doi.org/10.21859/sija-1103432
Hamid, M., Jam, F. A., & Mehmood, S. (2019). Psychological Empowerment and Employee Attitudes: Mediating Role of Intrinsic Motivation. International Journal of Business and Economic Affairs, 4(6), 300–314. https://doi.org/10.24088/ijbea-2019-46005
Haq, I. U., Ramay, M. I., Rehman, M. A. U., & Jam, F. A. (2010). Big five personality and perceived customer relationship management. Research Journal of International Studies, 15, 37-45. (JAHMS)
Haroon, W., Khawaja, A. O., & Ghayas, S. (2018). Ego integrity, physical health status and death anxiety in older adults. Journal of Behavioural Sciences, 28(1), 18-32.
Help Age International (2019). Pakistan. Retrieved from https://www.helpage.org/where-we-work/south-asia/pakistan/
Iverach, L., Menzies, R. G., & Menzies, R. E. (2014). Death anxiety and its role in psychopathology: Reviewing the status of a transdiagnostic construct. Clinical psychology review, 34(7), 580-593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2014.09.002
Jalal, S., & Younis, M. Z. (2014). Aging and elderly in Pakistan. Ageing International, 39(1), 4-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-01-9153-4
John, M., Binoy, S., Reddy, J. V., Passyavula, S. K., & Reddy, V. P. (2016). A study to assess the level of death anxiety among elderly people at selected area at Bhopal. International Journal of Medical and Health Research, 2(5), 23-4.
Jam, F. A. (2019). Crypto currency‒a new phenomenon in monetary circulation. Central Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(1), 39-46.
Jam, F. A., Rauf, A. S., Husnain, I., Bilal, H. Z., Yasir, A., & Mashood, M. (2014). Identify factors affecting the management of political behavior among bank staff. African Journal of Business Management, 5(23), 9896-9904.
Lazarus, R. S. (1998). The stress and coping paradigm. Fifty years of the research and theory of RS Lazarus: An analysis of historical and perennial Issues. New York; NY: Psychology Press.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1998). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. New York, NY: Springer.
Majidi, A., & Moradi, O. (2018). Effect of teaching the components of spiritual intelligence on death anxiety in the elderly. Iranian Journal of Ageing, 13(1), 110-123. https://doi.org/10.21859/sija.13.1.110
Mazhar, F., Jam, F. A., & Anwar, F. (2012). Consumer trust in e-commerce: A study of consumer perceptions in Pakistan. African Journal of Business Management, 6(7), 2516-2528.
McMordie, W. R. (1979). Improving measurement of death anxiety. Psychological Reports, 44(3), 975-980. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1979.44.3.975
Musaiger, A. O., & D'Souza, R. (2009). Role of age and gender in the perception of aging: A community-based survey in Kuwait. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 48(1), 50-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2007.10.002
Nabavi, S. H., Alipour, F., Hejazi, A., & Rashedi, V. (2014). Relationship between social support and mental health in older adults. Medical Journal of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 57(7), 841-846.
Nayak, S., Mohapatra, M. K., & Panda, B. (2019). Prevalence of and factors contributing to anxiety, depression and cognitive disorders among urban elderly in Odisha-a study through the health systems' Lens. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 80, 38-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2018.09.008
Nia, H. S., Ebadi, A., Lehto, R. H., Mousavi, B., Peyrovi, H., & Chan, Y. H. (2014). Reliability and validity of the persian version of templer death anxiety scale-extended in veterans of Iran-Iraq warfare. Iranian journal of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, 8(4), 29.
Palant, J. (2007). SPSS survival manual. A step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS for Windows third edition. New York, NY: McGrawHill.
Perna, L., Mielck, A., Lacruz, M. E., Emeny, R. T., Holle, R., Breitfelder, A., & Ladwig, K. H. (2012). Socioeconomic position, resilience, and health behaviour among elderly people. International journal of public health, 57(2), 341-349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0294-0
Rashedi, V., Gharib, M., Rezaei, M., & Yazdani, A. A. (2013). Social support and anxiety in the elderly of Hamedan, Iran. Archives of Rehabilitation (Joutrnal of Rehabilitation, 14(2), 110-115.
Sadaf, S., Loona, M. I., & Waqar, S. (2021). Religiosity and death anxiety among madrasa and college students. Rawal Medical Journal, 46(3), 664-667.
Sharif Nia, H., Ebadi, A., Lehto, R. H., & Peyrovi, H. (2015). The experience of death anxiety in Iranian war veterans: A phenomenology study. Death studies, 39(5), 281-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2014.991956
Shoaib, M., Khan, S., & Khan, M. H. (2011). Family support and health status of elderly people: A case study of district gujrat, Pakistan. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 10(4), 519-525.
Sridevi G, Swathi P. (2014). Death anxiety and death depression among institutionalized and non-Institutionalized elders. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(10),1-8.
Sridevi, G., & Swathi, P. (2014). Depression and suicidal ideation among institutionalized and non-institutionalized elders. International Multidisciplinary E-journal, 3(4), 213-224.
Stuart, G. W., & Laraia, M. T. (2012). Principles and Practice of Psychiatric Nursing (10th ed.). Missouri, MO: Mosby
Suhail, K., & Akram, S. (2002). Correlates of death anxiety in Pakistan. Death studies, 26(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481180210146
Weiss, B. J., & Hope, D. A. (2011). A preliminary investigation of worry content in sexual minorities. Journal of anxiety disorders, 25(2),244-250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.09.009
Wu, A. M., Tang, C. S., & Kwok, T. C. (2002). Death anxiety among Chinese elderly people in Hong Kong. Journal of Aging and Health, 14(1), 42-56. https://doi.org/10.1177/089826430201400103
Yochim BP.(2017). The Psychology of Aging (1st ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Zahedi Bidgol, Z., Tagharrobi, Z., Sooki, Z., & Sharifi, K. (2020). Death anxiety and its predictors among older adults. Journal of Holistic Nursing and Midwifery, 30(2), 101-110. https://doi.org/10.32598/jhnm.30.2.101
Zamaan, N. I., & Ali, U. (2015). Validity Assessment of Coping Styles Scale (CSS). Pakistan Journal of Psychology, 46(1), 53-64.
Zare Marzouni, H., Karimi, M., Narimi, Z., Ghasemi, A., & Janaki, M. (2016). Effects of education on reduction of stress and anxiety of orthopedic surgery. Navid No, 19(62), 62-68.
Published
2022-03-31
How to Cite
Dr. Aaqib Shahzad Alvi, Dr. Maliha Gull Tarar, & Dr. Ibad Ullah Sajid. (2022). Assessing Death Anxiety and its Correlates among Community Dwelling Elderly. Journal of Management Practices, Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(2), 59-67. https://doi.org/10.33152/jmphss-6.2.7
Issue
Section
Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
