PhD Scientific Days 2023

Mental Health Sciences - Posters M

Coping Strategies in Relation to Dimensions of Death Awareness and Meaning of Life - Connection between Fear of Death, Coping and the Meaning of Life with the Context of Pre-and Post COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts

Text of the abstract

Introduction: Death anxiety is a common phenomenon in our human existence. Latest studies enhanced the acute and chronic negative effects of Covid-19 on mental health, and the need of focus on death anxiety as a relevant factor in mental health conditions. Studies examined connections between death anxiety and meaning of life, explored those competences that count as coping strategies in relations of fear of death.

Aim: Our recent studies evoked the necessity of thematic group discussions to facilitate death awareness, its importance in mental health and explored the relations of meaning of life, coping competences and the fear of death pre-covid period. Current research explores these relations post-covid.

Method: The associations were assessed with the Meaning of Life (MLQ), the Psychological Immune Competence Inventory (PICI) and the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale (MFODS) with extended Covid-19 pandemic specified sociodemographic questions in a sample of 413 (61 male, 352 female).

Results: Correlations between fear of death and the meaning of life components remained weak compared to pre-Covid results, but with a shift towards the significance of search for meaning with stronger relation. Search for meaning indicates correlations with several fear of death dimensions compared to pre-C results where no relations were found.
Stronger significant negative correlations were explored between fear of death and the psychological immune competences. Self-regulatory System within PICI has stronger inverse correlation with fear of death.
Presence of meaning positively correlates with each coping competence with stronger relations compared to pre-Covid results, and search for meaning correlates with more psychological immune competences compared to pre-pandemic phase.

Conclusions: The aggregate results partially support our hypothesis at the level was expected. The explored relations advocate an emphasis on certain coping competences and an increase of the role of search for meaning when facing the thread of covid-19 pandemic.

key words: Covid-19 pandemic impacts, psychological immune competences, meaning of life, fear of death, mental health