Levels of death fear: a factor analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Fear of death is a complex human emotion.
• Previous research suggested distinct levels of death fear: conscious, imagery, and nonconscious.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the structure of fear of death using principal components and factor analyses.
• To investigate if Feifel's seven measures align with predicted conscious, imagery, and nonconscious levels of death fear.

Main Methods:

• Factor analysis and principal components analysis were applied.
• Data from 60 high school and college students were analyzed.
• Seven measures assessing fear of death were used.

Main Results:

• The predicted three levels (conscious, imagery, nonconscious) of death fear were not supported.
• A four-component or four-factor solution provided the best fit for the data.
• The first factor represented conscious death fear.
• The remaining three factors comprised combinations of nonconscious measures.

Conclusions:

• The findings challenge the tripartite model of death fear.
• Nonconscious measures of death fear appear to capture diverse behavioral aspects.
• Further research is needed to understand the multidimensional nature of death fear.