Psychometric Properties of the Death Anxiety Scale for Adult Chronic Patients

Ximena Palacios Espinosa, Ricardo Sanchez-Pedraza, Ana María Gómez Carvajal, Juan Sebastián Botero-Meneses, Diana María Escallón, Diego Armando Leal

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch Articlepeer-review

Abstract

Introduction: Death anxiety is a predictor of exacerbations in both physical and psychological symptoms of chronic diseases. Therefore, having short and easy-to-apply instruments to assess the presence of death anxiety and adopting a multidisciplinary approach to address it are important.

Method: This study analyzes the psychometric properties of the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) developed by Donald Templer in a Colombian population of adult patients diagnosed with a chronic disease. The original instrument was linguistically, conceptually, and culturally adapted to Colombian Spanish to be subsequently applied to 301 adult patients with chronic diseases.

Results: The exploratory factor analysis revealed a 3-factor structure, with a variance of 47%. Internal consistency was observed (Cronbach's alpha: 0.71; McDonald's omega: 0.76; Guttman's lambda 6 (G6): 0.74; greatest lower bound: 0.54). A correlation coefficient of 0.64 was found between the total score of the DAS and the Beck Anxiety Inventory.

Conclusion: When comparing the results with the versions of the DAS in Spanish from Mexico and Spain, variability in the psychometric properties was observed; therefore, language cannot be assumed to be a guarantee of the reliability and validity of the instrument.
Translated title of the contributionPropiedades psicométricas de la escala de ansiedad ante la muerte para pacientes crónicos adultos
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-34
Number of pages34
JournalTrends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
DOIs
StateE-pub ahead of print - Jun 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Applied Psychology

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