41-2 A Study on the Construction and Survey of Death Anxiety among Undergraduate Students in Taiwan

Due to the lack of a death anxiety scale that is constructed from the localized viewpoint, this study was designed to explore the contents of death anxiety by interviewing ten undergraduate students. Based on the interview data, the death anxiety scale was developed, and subsequently used to survey the death anxiety of undergraduate students in Taiwan. Six dimensions of death anxiety of undergraduate student were identified and used to generate items of the 'Death Anxiety Scale for undergraduate students'. A sample of 511 college students was recruited. The results showed that the death anxiety of undergraduate students in Taiwan was intermediate (M=3.16, five-point Likert response format). However, participants gave higher ratings to the dimensions of "loss of relationship" and "helplessness and suffering". Gender difference was also found with female participants expressing higher death anxiety than their male counterparts. Based on the findings, practical implications and directions for future research were highlighted.

Keywords
death anxiety ; scale ; undergraduate student

Download
Download