LEVELS OF DEATH ANXIETY: A COMPARISON OF AMERICAN AND LITHUNIAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICE PERSONNEL

Globalization, coupled with increased attention to issues surrounding death, highlights the need to explore cultural influences on the social, personal, and psychological consequences of death. This study compared the responses of 82 American and 119 Lithuanian health and social service personnel on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Death studies 2006-09, Vol.30 (7), p.665
Main Authors: Lucinda Lee Roff, Simon, Cassandra, Klemmack, David, Butkeviciene, Ruta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Comparative studies
Cultural differences
Death & dying
Fear & phobias
Medical personnel
Social workers
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Summary:Globalization, coupled with increased attention to issues surrounding death, highlights the need to explore cultural influences on the social, personal, and psychological consequences of death. This study compared the responses of 82 American and 119 Lithuanian health and social service personnel on seven subscales of the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale. Lithuanian participants were more likely to express fear of the dying process and fear of the unknown and were less likely to fear the dead than were Americans. The findings suggest that different historical and environmental experiences with death may influence anxiety about various dimensions of death. Cultural differences in the dimensions of death anxiety among health and social service providers in the two nations suggest the importance of differential training based on specific cultural knowledge to improve the quality of care. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0748-1187
1091-7683