Differential Dimensions of Death Anxiety in Nursing Students with and without Nursing Experience

Abstract

Researchers have demonstrated death anxiety in nursing professionals; however, it is unclear as to when this anxiety develops. This study used a multidimensional measure to investigate death anxiety in a group of experienced (n = 53) and inexperienced (n = 49) nursing students and a control group of non-nursing students (n = 50). Experienced nursing students reported significantly more fear of the dying process than inexperienced nursing students and controls whereas both experienced and inexperienced nursing students reported more fear of the unknown than controls. The results suggest that death anxiety may develop early in a nurse's training.

Portions of this manuscript were submitted as the master's thesis of Y.-C. Chen and presented at the 1998 conference of the Southeastern Psychological Association. We wish to thank Drs. Anthony Golden and Stuart Bonnington for their feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Notes

^a Adjusted mean with age, death of someone close, and seeing a person die as covariates.

^b Mean score.

^c Adjusted mean with race, education, and gender as covariates.

^d Control group of 50 non-nursing students with no nursing experience related to death and dying.

^e Control group of 130 individuals who were employed in various non-death-related occupations (e.g., clerical workers, business managers).

∗p < .05. ∗∗p < .01.