Levels of Death Anxiety in Terminally Ill Men: A Pilot Study

1992 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bert Hayslip ◽  
Debra D. Luhr ◽  
Michael M. Beyerlein
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
The Face ◽  
Life Trajectory

Twenty-five men, twelve of whom were healthy and thirteen of whom had been diagnosed with AIDS, were administered measures of overt (Templer DAS) and covert (Incomplete Sentence Blank) fear of death in order to ascertain levels of death anxiety in those with a terminal illness. Results suggested that while men who had AIDS and those who were healthy did not differ in Templer DAS scores, Incomplete Sentence Blank total scores were higher ( p < .01) for males with AIDS. These findings are consistent with the observations of Pattison who suggested that one's life trajectory is redefined when the diagnosis of a terminal illness is made; such persons experience great anxiety, resulting in the denial of their fear in order to maintain a psychological equilibrium in the face of death.

Openness of Health Professionals about Death and Terminal Illness in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kemi Adamolekun
Keyword(s):  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Terminally Ill Patients ◽  
Aids Epidemic ◽  
Diagnosis And Prognosis ◽  
Threatening Condition ◽  
The Face ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Doctors And Nurses

Most physicians in developed countries are reported to have a sense of responsibility to inform a patient about the facts of his or her life-threatening condition. This study reports doctors' and nurses' responsibility to their terminally ill patients in an African environment. Since, by local tradition, doctors are not supposed to convey bad news and the patients do not see themselves as dying of illness, the doctors are not enthusiastic about informing the patients that their disease is terminal. Though doctors and nurses are of the opinion that patients or relatives should be informed of patients' diagnoses, the majority of these professionals do not discuss the prognosis with terminally ill patients. The need to discuss the diagnosis and prognosis according to the desire of each patient was examined. This is more relevant to the practice of medicine in the developing countries with the likelihood that more terminally ill patients would use the hospitals in the face of HIV/AIDS epidemic.

To Laugh in the Face of Death: The Games that Lethal People Play

1990 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Thorson ◽  
F. C. Powell
Keyword(s):  
Death Anxiety ◽  
Item Analysis ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
The Face

A total of 399 individuals completed a lethal-behaviors scale and a measure of death anxiety, which were found to have no significant correlation. Item analysis of the lethal-behaviors scale indicated a number of the best predictors of lethalness. The most lethal individuals in this sample were young, male, and less educated. These people may be exercising both death-denying and fear-of-death-denying behaviors.

Happiness at the end of life: A qualitative study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Tan Seng Beng ◽  
Wong Ka Ghee ◽  
Ng Yun Hui ◽  
Ooi Chieh Yin ◽  
Khoo Wei Shen Kelvin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Pain And Suffering ◽  
The University ◽  
Eudaimonic Happiness

Abstract Objective Dying is mostly seen as a dreadful event, never a happy experience. Yet, as palliative care physicians, we have seen so many patients who remained happy despite facing death. Hence, we conducted this qualitative study to explore happiness in palliative care patients at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. Method Twenty terminally ill patients were interviewed with semi-structured questions. The results were thematically analyzed. Results Eight themes were generated: the meaning of happiness, connections, mindset, pleasure, health, faith, wealth, and work. Our results showed that happiness is possible at the end of life. Happiness can coexist with pain and suffering. Social connections were the most important element of happiness at the end of life. Wealth and work were given the least emphasis. From the descriptions of our patients, we recognized a tendency for the degree of importance to shift from the hedonic happiness to eudaimonic happiness as patients experienced a terminal illness. Significance of results To increase the happiness of palliative care patients, it is crucial to assess the meaning of happiness for each patient and the degree of importance for each happiness domain to allow targeted interventions.

Relationship of Religiosity to Death Anxiety of Middle-Aged Males

1984 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 811-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann M. Downey
Keyword(s):  
Principal Components Analysis ◽  
Principal Components ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
Control Variable ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Probability Sample ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Relationship Of

The purpose of this study was to determine how religiosity was related to death anxiety among a group of middle-aged men. A non-probability sample of 237 male volunteers between the ages of 40 and 59 yr. of whom 88.7% were engaged in professional occupations completed a questionnaire composed of various research instruments. A single composite score for religiosity was obtained through a principal-components analysis of 13 items selected, adjusted, and compiled by Downey (1980) from various religiosity scales. Boyar's Fear of Death Scale assessed death anxiety, while “experience of death” was measured by three items and was utilized as a control variable in determining the association between religiosity and death anxiety. Analysis indicated that “experience of death” or the amount of contact the male has had with death was not related to death anxiety. Data did not support the prediction that those males who were less religious would exhibit higher scores on death anxiety than would those men who were more religious. Further analyses demonstrated a curvilinear relationship between religiosity and death anxiety. The middle-aged men who were moderately religious evidenced a significantly higher fear of death than the men who were either low or high in religiosity.

Life Themes: A Method to Understand Terminal Illness

1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Messer Zlatin
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Costs ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Incurable Cancer ◽  
Doctor Patient Communication ◽  
The Patient’S View ◽  
Care Costs

As health care costs in general soar, the high cost of terminal care is questioned. Yet little is known about what kinds of medical care terminally ill persons, themselves, want. To explore the patient's view, I conducted a qualitative study of eight patients with incurable cancer to answer the question, “How do terminally ill persons understand their illnesses and treatments?” Analysis of interview transcripts indicated that study participants created illness-understandings within the context of their daily life experiences via life themes. Since life themes integrate and give meaning to illness events in both emic and etic ways and help to explain patients' coping strategies, it is recommended that health care providers elicit patients' life themes and use them in their approaches to diagnosis and treatment. The possible benefits of the life theme method are more balanced doctor/patient communication, improved patient satisfaction and quality of life, and the containment of health care costs.

scholarly journals The Role of Self-Talk in Predicting Death Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Coping Strategies in the Face of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esmaeil Sadri Damirchi ◽  
Arezoo Mojarrad ◽  
Saeed Pireinaladin ◽  
Andrej M M Grjibovski
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Coping Style ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Self Talk ◽  
The Face ◽  
And Coping

Objective: Nowadays, the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is one of the most stressful resources that has led to the rise of different levels of psychological crisis. In addition to the countries affected by the COVID-19, such as China, European and American countries, Iran has appeared as one of the most affected countries with high infected cases and deaths. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of self-talk in predicting death anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and coping strategies in the face of COVID-19. Method: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted on 354 adults living in Ardabil, Iran, who were selected using cluster sampling from 21 January to 19 March 2020. Self-Talk questionnaires, Coping Strategies, Death Anxiety, and Obsessive-Compulsive questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis. Results: The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between self-talk and problem-centered coping style. Also, significant negative relationships were found between self-talk and emotional coping style, death anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Furthermore, based on the results of the regression test, self-talk predicted problem-centered style, emotional-coping style, death anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Conclusion: The results of this study emphasize the need for psychological crisis intervention during the COVID-19 outbreak. Also, this study provides an important step in shifting attention to self-talk skills from sport psychology fields toward clinical psychology, especially about the mental impacts of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Can there be a Disability Studies Theory of "End-of-Life Autonomy?"

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Braswell
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Disability Studies ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Self Development ◽  
Relational Process

<p>Keywords</p><p>ADA, autonomy, bioethics, end-of-life, euthanasia, terminal illness</p><p>Abstract</p><p>In this article, I examine the possibility of a disability studies theory of "end-of-life autonomy." I define "end-of-life autonomy" as an individual's legally protected and medically enacted decision to die in response to a serious incurable medical condition. Disability studies scholars criticize such autonomy when it is exercised by persons with disabilities, but are divided on its application to the terminally ill. But the problem with end-of-life autonomy is not determining the correct population to which it applies; it is the ableism underlying the concept of "autonomy" itself. I redefine "autonomy" as a relational process of self-development that is oriented toward a greater recognition of dependence. This rethinking can make the ADA more responsive to terminally ill individuals, and helps lay the foundation for a disability studies theory of end-of-life autonomy.</p>

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