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Death obsession in Arabic and Western countries.
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, Kaifan, Kuwait. ahmedkuniv@hotmail.com
Psychological Reports
|November 11, 2005
Summary
This study found that Arab university students reported higher death obsession than Western students. The Death Obsession Scale revealed significant cultural differences in attitudes toward death.
Area of Science:
- Cross-cultural psychology
- Psychology of death and dying
Background:
- Understanding cultural variations in death obsession is crucial for mental health.
- Previous research has not extensively compared death obsession across Arab and Western cultures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare levels of death obsession between undergraduate students from Arab and Western countries.
- To investigate potential cultural differences in the perception and expression of death obsession.
Main Methods:
- A cross-cultural comparative study was conducted.
- 1,853 Arab undergraduates (Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria) and 791 Western undergraduates (Britain, Spain, USA) participated.
- Comparable Arabic, Spanish, and English versions of the Death Obsession Scale were utilized.
Main Results:
- Arab participants exhibited significantly higher mean scores on the Death Obsession Scale compared to Western participants.
- These differences were observed consistently for both male and female students across cultural groups.
Conclusions:
- Cultural factors appear to influence the degree of death obsession among young adults.
- Findings suggest a need for culturally sensitive approaches in understanding and addressing death-related anxieties.