Death Anxiety in Cancer Survival: A Preliminary Cross-Validation Study

Abstract

In an attempt to cross-validate the results with cancer survivors and to test its sensitivity to illness-related variables, the Death Anxiety Questionnaire (DAQ) was administered with measures of general anxiety, depression, somatization, and global psychological distress to 90 young adult men (60 Hodgkin's disease survivors, 30 testicular cancer survivors). There were no differences between groups on any of the dependent measures. Significant but weak to moderate intercorrelations confirmed that death anxiety is separate but related to general anxiety, depression, somatic distress, and global psychological distress. The DAQ was the most highly correlated with time elapsed since diagnosis, but no measure was significantly associated with extent of the disease at diagnosis (i.e., prognosis). Factor analysis of the DAQ provided confirmation of its multidimensionality and lent partial support to the presence of previously reported specific dimensions. The factor structure of the DAQ in cancer survivors may be different from that in the general population. Further study is needed to examine this aspect.