The Relationship Between the Meaning of Life, Psychological Well-Being, Self-Care, and Social Capital, with Depression and Death Anxiety in the Elderly Living in Nursing Homes: The Mediating Role of Loneliness

The current study aims to investigate the meaning of life, psychological well-being, self-care, and social capital, with depression and death anxiety in the elderly living in nursing homes through the mediating role of loneliness. The statistical population included all the elderly aged at least 60 years living in Tehran, Qazvin and Zanjan, Iran in 2020, among whom 489 (273 men and 216 women) were selected using convenience sampling method. Participants filled out Steger’s Meaning of Life, Ryff and Singer’s Psychological Well-Being Scale, Söderhamn et al.’s Self-Care Ability, Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s Social capital, Beck’s depression, Templer’s Death Anxiety, Russell et al.’s Loneliness questionnaires. The results indicated that there is a significant relationship between the meaning of life, psychological well-being, self-care, and social capital, with depression through the mediating role of loneliness. Besides, there was a significant relationship between the meaning of life, psychological well-being, self-care, and social capital, with death anxiety through the mediating role of loneliness. Moreover, the results of path analysis showed that the hypothesized model of the current study has an excellent fit in the study sample.

Evaluation of Psychopathological Conditions, Corona Anxiety, Death Anxiety and Suicide Risk in Hemodialysis Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background Hemodialysis (HD) patients have serious psychopathological symptoms due to COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the psychopathological conditions among HD patients during the current pandemic and also to provide a theoretical basis for the implementation of effective preventions and psychological interventions. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted with 114 HD patients who were undergoing treatment in the Dialysis Centers of two state hospitals between July and October 2021. Brief symptom inventory, Death anxiety scale, Suicide probability scale and Corona anxiety scale were applied to the participants for the assessment. Results In the study, it was determined that HD patients had high levels of psychopathological symptoms. The mean total score was found to be 26.47 ± 20.2 in TDAS, 0.71 ± 0.51 in GSI, 3.31 ± 2.86 in CAS and 65.86 ± 9.72 in SPS. Of the participants 18.4% had high death anxiety levels and 30.7% had corona anxiety. Suicide risk was higher in HD patients. In correlation analysis; psychological distress positively correlated with suicide probability, corona anxiety and death anxiety. On the other hand, there was a positive correlation between corona anxiety and death anxiety. Conclusions As a result, it was concluded that HD patients experienced various mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychosocial support and interventions need to be planned by the healthcare system and healthcare providers to help HD patients in managing their disease and related mental health conditions.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Effect on Emotion Regulation and Death Anxiety in Older Female Adults

This study examined the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy intervention on emotion regulation and death anxiety in old women. This quasi-experimental study was conducted using a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The research population included elderly women aged 60–75 years who were members of the Tehran Municipality Retirees Association in 2020. A total of 30 women were assigned to intervention and control groups (15 persons in each group). The participants in the intervention group received the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) intervention for 10 sessions while the participants in the control group did not receive any intervention. The results of the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that there was a significant difference between the women in the intervention and control groups in terms of cognitive emotion regulation and death anxiety on the posttest. This therapy can be used for the elderly living in nursing homes and aging associations and institutions.

The Relationship Between Death Anxiety and Religious Coping Styles in Patients Diagnosed With COVID-19: A Sample in the East of Turkey

This study was conducted to find out the relationship between death anxiety and religious coping styles in patients diagnosed with COVID-19. This cross-sectional and relational study was carried out with snowball sampling technique between May 15 and June 15, 2021. It was found that the participants had a mean Death Anxiety Scale total score of 10.42 [Formula: see text], they had a mean positive religious coping sub-scale score of [Formula: see text] and a mean negative religious coping sub-scale score of 12.82 [Formula: see text]. Statistically significant positive association was found between Death Anxiety Scale and Religious Coping Questionnaire’s both positive and negative coping sub-scale scores ( p < .05). It was found that patients diagnosed with COVID-19 had high level of death anxiety and positive religious coping styles. It was also found that death anxiety levels increased in the patients as their use of positive and negative coping increased.