Mental Health, Social Support, and Death Anxiety in Patients With Chronic Kidney Failure

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between mental health, perceived social support, and death anxiety, and the predictive roles of mental health and perceived social support in the explanation of death anxiety in a sample of adults with chronic kidney disease. Methods: A demographic questionnaire, the Symptom Check List−25, the Social Support Survey Scale, and the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) were used in the present study. The sample consisted of 58 adult patients with chronic kidney failure. Results: Findings showed that mental health had significantly positive relationships to the total score of the death anxiety and the fear of death, the fear of pain and disease, and the death thoughts subscales of the DAS. Social support had a significant negative relationship to the total score of the death anxiety and the fear of pain and disease, the death thoughts, and the transient time and the short life subscales of the DAS. Mental health and combined mental health and social support explained 14% and 21% of death anxiety variation in patients with chronic kidney failure, respectively. Conclusion: Mental health and social support constructs can relatively predict the variations of death anxiety in patients with chronic kidney failure.

Self-Transcendence as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Reminiscence Functions and Death Anxiety: Implications for Psychiatric Nurses

“…Finally, older adults living with a life-threatening disease and having a history of psychiatric disorders had higher death anxiety levels and lower self-transcendence levels. These results are in accord with recent studies (Brown et al, 2014; Guner et al, 2023; Khodarahimi et al, 2021), indicating that older people with a disease that threatens their lives tend to worry about dying. In contrast to earlier findings (Ho et al, 2016), people who are free of potentially fatal diseases or psychiatric disorders reported higher scores in self-transcendence.…”

“…Death anxiety has been studied in many mental disorders, such as somatic symptom disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Abbas et al, 2021; Iverach et al, 2014; Khodarahimi et al, 2021; Mavrogiorgou et al, 2020). These studies have shown a positive relationship between mental health history and death anxiety.…”

Investigation of Trait Anxiety and Death Anxiety Experienced in the Covid 19 Pandemic in Terms of Physical Activity Status

“…The frequency and intensity of thoughts about death increase in chronic diseases (Francalancia et al, 2021;Khawar et al, 2013;Khodarahimi et al, 2021). Some studies have shown that patients with chronic diseases have more significant death anxiety than healthy controls (Strömberg & Jaarsma, 2008).…”