Sentido da vida e conceito de morte em estudantes universitários: um estudo correlacional

Abstract

RESUMOConsiderando a relevância da temática da finitude para a existência humana, este trabalho teve como objetivo conhecer as correlações entre o sentido da vida e as concepções acerca da morte. Participaram do estudo 190 estudantes universitários dos cursos de Direito, Educação Física, Fisioterapia e Psicologia, sendo a maioria destes participantes do sexo feminino (68,9%), e de religião católica (61,6%). Como instrumentos para a coleta de dados, foram utilizados o Teste Propósito de Vida, o Questionário de Percepção de Morte e um questionário sociodemográfico. Os resultados apontaram para a existência de correlações positivas entre o vazio existencial e as visões de morte como fracasso, dor e solidão, e abandono. Por outro lado, o vazio existencial correlacionou-se negativamente com a visão de morte como fim natural. Tais resultados apóiam a concepção teleológica de Viktor Frankl quando pressupõe que a consciência da finitude põe em movimento a vontade de encontrar um sentido para a vida. Conclui-se que variáveis existenciais são relevantes para compreender as concepções que as pessoas têm sobre a morte. Palavras-chave: sentido da vida; conceitos de morte; psicologia existencial. ABSTRACT Meaning of Life and Conceptions about Death in College Students: A Correlational StudyConsidering the importance of finitude for human existence, this paper aimed to investigate the relationships between meaning of life and conceptions of death. The participants of this study were 190 male and female university students, from Law, Physical Education, Physiotherapy and Psychology courses. Most of the participants were female (68,9%) and Catholic (61,6%). The Purpose in Life Test, the Death Perspective Questionnaire and a socio-demographic questionnaire were used to collect the data. The results showed positive correlations between existential emptiness and concepts of death as failure, pain and loneliness, and abandonment. On the other hand, existential emptiness was correlated negatively with the concept of death as a natural end. Such results support the teleological conception of Viktor Frankl, which asserts that the conscience of finitude puts in motion the will to find a life purpose. We conclude that existential variables are relevant to understand the conceptions people have about death. Keywords: meaning of life; concepts of death; existential psychology.O presente artigo discute as relações entre o sentido de vida e as visões de morte, tendo como questão norteadora uma antiga inquietação humana: a própria finitude. A partir do momento em que o homo patiens, isto é, o homem que sofre, tomou consciência da morte, ele iniciou suas reflexões acerca da vida e dos sentidos atribuídos à existência humana. Destarte, tornase pertinente averiguar as possíveis associações entre as variáveis aqui discutidas, com o intuito de clarificar como as pessoas percebem o significado da existência em função dos significados atribuídos à morte.Pode-se constatar que as atitudes e as percepções sobre a morte sofreram grandes mudanças ao long...

Percepção da “morte digna” por estudantes e médicos

“…The change in place to die from the residence to the hospital happened due to several historical and social factors 10 . Although the students from the health area have a theoretical education concerning death 4 , the daily contact with this phenomenom is probably responsible for changing their perception. In the case of doctors, the option of the majority for dying at a hopital is due to the fact that they work, on a daily basis, in an environment in which technical and scientific knowledge are shown to be useful and effective, and sometimes represent the only possibility of dealing with death.…”

“…However, the way of classifying and reporting to death has undergone changes along time, similarly to the profile of health professionals, especially doctors 3 . Historically, in the 5 th and 6 th centuries death permeated everyday life and was perceived in a prosaic manner, with no drama or fear 4 . In the medieval era it was a domestic, romanticized phenomenom 5 , restricted to the circle of family members, friends and neighbors, in addition to the presence of a priest.…”

“…This was the point when the medical literature began investigating this theme, which started having bibliographic references 3 , although resignation and the notion of the inescapable fatality of death made the feeling of fear related to it become practically absent. This perspective, which lasted until the 18 th century 6 , gave rise to a perception of death in the next century as an event that raises fear 4 .…”

Significado do processo morte/morrer para os acadêmicos ingressantes no curso de enfermagem

“…People focus their attention only in the facticities of death and the transience of life. They forget to enjoy the events of their past, their achieved projects, joys, their creative acts, as well as all the sufferings they bravely coped with (12) .…”

“…Literature highlights that as students and Nursing professionals live death situations, they experience feelings of inefficacy and impotence (1,2,4,12,14) . However, the present study reveals that some students face the phenomenon as being a proper or natural fact of human beings.…”