Death anxiety, death obsession and quality of life across frailty level among Chinese community-dwelling older adults

• Published in: Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) N.J.), 2024-06, Vol.43 (22), p.19721-19731
• Main Authors: Yang, Shi-Lai, Lv, Yan-Li, Yu, Biao-Jun, Chen, Wei-Ling, Li, Hui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Frailty; Older people; Psychology; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Social Sciences
• ISSN: 1046-1310; 1936-4733
• DOI: 10.1007/s12144-024-05801-3

Community-dwelling elderly live with various levels of frailty in China. Frailty is closely related to health-related quality of life, and evidence of the association between death anxiety, death obsession and quality of life in Chinese older adults is limited. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence on the difference in factors affecting the quality of life of elderly individuals with different degrees of frailty. To test the relationship between death anxiety, death obsession, and quality of life varies across frailty levels among community-dwelling elderly. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study that was conducted on nine hundred and sixty eligible community-dwelling elderly in Southern of Fujian province, China, selected using convenience sampling. Participants provided data on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics by completing A Simple Frailty Questionnaire (FRAIL), Templer's Death Anxiety Scale, Death Obsession Scale and The 12-item Short Form health survey questionnaire(SF-12). The total prevalence of frailty was 48.8%, lower death anxiety, death obsession scores and higher physical health (PCS) and mental health (MCS) were found in robust community-dwelling elderly. Many factors are in play, including death anxiety, death obsession, self-reported health, and chronic conditions have statistical significance(p