Fear of COVID-19, death depression and death anxiety: Religious coping as a mediator

Validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the Empathy Quotient- 8 in Turkish university students

BACKGROUND

Empathy is an important psychological construct that plays a significant role in social interactions, mental health, and well-being. Despite the significance of empathy in psychological research and mental health, there is a lack of validated and concise measures available in Turkish.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the eight-item Empathy Quotient (EQ- 8) in Turkish university students, assessing its reliability, convergent validity, and factor structure. Therefore, we seek to determine its suitability for use in psychological and mental health research within Turkish-speaking populations.

METHODS

We collected the data from two groups. The data of the first group (N = 198) was used to test the factor structure of the EQ- 8 by randomly splitting the data into two halves. The first half was used for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the second half was used for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), while the second group (N = 47) was carried out to test the reliability of EQ- 8.

RESULTS

The results of the EFA and CFA yielded a one-factor solution for the EQ- 8. The internal consistency reliability was found to be good in both subsamples. Test-retest reliability was established as.86. As to the convergent validity, the scores on EQ- 8 were significantly positively related to the scores of the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire.

CONCLUSIONS

These results provide support for the Turkish version of the EQ- 8 as a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring empathy. These results contribute to cross-cultural research and the evaluation of interventions targeting empathy.

Social isolation, loneliness, death stress and life satisfaction in older adults: A serial mediation study

This study aims to examine the mediating role of loneliness on the relationship between social isolation and life satisfaction among older adults and tests a mechanism through which social isolation exerts its menacing effects through a sequential model of loneliness and death distress. Data came from 548 community-dwelling older adults in rural settings in Turkey. They completed some demographic information including sex, age and measures of social isolation, loneliness, death distress, and life satisfaction. The results showed that loneliness and death distress exacerbated the negative effects of social isolation on life satisfaction. Loneliness and death distress served as a sequential mediating role in the association between social isolation and life satisfaction. Older adults with higher social isolation experience heightened loneliness and death distress, and worsening levels of life satisfaction. Greater experience of loneliness in sequence with greater levels of death distress mediated the relationship between life satisfaction and social isolation.

Development and validation of Believers' Death Anxiety Scale: integrating religious dimensions into death anxiety assessment

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Death anxiety has traditionally been measured without considering religious beliefs related to death, such as afterlife, the grave, and punishment. The present study was aimed at developing and validating a new scale to address this limitation.

METHODS

The study was carried out in four phases and recruited a total of 2250 conveniently selected participants aged 18-59. Believers' Death Anxiety Scale (BDAS) was developed and validated according to the reputed standards for scale development and validation. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. The convergent validity was established by correlating BDAS with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. Discriminant validity was established by correlating BDAS with the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Internal consistency and reliability were assessed through Cronbach's alpha, item-total, and item-scale correlations.

RESULTS

The BDAS consists of fifteen items distributed across five subscales: worry, terror, despair, avoidance, and thoughts. The BDAS exhibited a strong factor structure, with five distinct factors consistently exceeding acceptable factor loadings. Convergent validity was confirmed through positive correlations with depression, anxiety, and stress, while discriminant validity was demonstrated through a significant inverse correlation with life satisfaction. The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency and reliability across all phases of testing.

CONCLUSION

The BDAS emerges as a valuable and innovative instrument for researchers and practitioners seeking to comprehensively assess death anxiety, considering the often-overlooked role of religious dimensions.

The Psychopathological Predictors and Effects of Death Anxiety

Death anxiety has been linked to several psychopathological conditions. However, the causes, comorbidity, and differential diagnosis of death anxiety is unexplored. This paper stands out by identifying common predictors of death anxiety and exploring the potential of death anxiety as a predictor for other psychological conditions. The paper reports the findings of four consecutive studies that involved a total of 2291 conveniently selected participants including 861 men and 1430 women. We focused on clarifying both the predictors of death anxiety and the psychopathological consequences emerging from it. Our findings established depression, anxiety, stress, fear of aging, and reduced life satisfaction as predictors of death anxiety. Psychosocial illness, sleep disturbances, aggression, and daily hassles were established as the adverse outcomes of death anxiety. Fear of aging was the most significant predictor of death anxiety and daily hassles emerged as the most significant adverse consequence of death anxiety.

The Role of Spirituality in Anxiety and Psychological Resilience of Hemodialysis Patients in Turkey

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant health problem that affects millions of people worldwide and its end-stage manifestation requires hemodialysis treatment, which can have a considerable impact on patients' mental health and quality of life. This study aims to examine the relationship between spirituality and anxiety, as well as spirituality and psychological resilience among hemodialysis patients using the iterative weighted least squares method. Participants included 91 hemodialysis patients, consisting of 49 females and 42 males, whose ages ranged from 20 to 82 years, with a mean age of 48 (SD = 14). The data were collected using the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Spirituality Scale, and Brief Psychological Resilience Scale. Results indicated a weak positive relationship between spirituality and psychological resilience (t = 1.35, P = .183) and a moderate negative relationship between spirituality and anxiety (t = -2.84, P = .006). Furthermore, spirituality accounted for a 1% variance in psychological resilience and a 5% of the variance in anxiety. Additionally, patients' education level, gender, and whom they live with were relatively stronger correlates of psychological resilience, while the patient's education level, gender, marital status, whom they live with, presence of another patient at home receiving hemodialysis treatment were strong correlates of anxiety. This study emphasizes the need for comprehensive care that addresses both physical and psychological aspects of CKD management to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

Translation and psychometric properties of the Mandarin Chinese version of the COVID-19 Impact Scale in college students

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant long psychological impacts that require a novel measurement tool to capture the changes in such impacts. To this end, the COVID-19 Impact Scale (CIS) was developed as an instrument to evaluate psychological responses associated with the pandemic, and has shown evidence of a one-factor structure. The CIS was initially created using an Korea University students sample, and has since been translated and validated in Turkish. A total of 504 College students, aged 17-25, took part in the study from two universities in Jinan, located in Shandong Province, Eastern China, via an online survey platform. They were administered the Chinese versions of the following self-report instruments: Mandarin Chinese CIS, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 and Satisfaction With Life Scale. Moreover, a sample of 86 participants who provided their contact information and agreed to participate in the second-round survey were asked to reassess using the Mandarin Chinese CIS after a period of 3 weeks following the initial testing. Results showed that Mandarin Chinese CIS had good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Additionally, the Mandarin Chinese CIS presented good criterion validity and estimates of convergent validity and incremental validity. In confirmatory factor analysis, the one-factor model showed an acceptable fit after incorporating correlations between error terms. Our findings suggest that the Mandarin Chinese CIS is a reliable and valid self-report tool that demonstrates robust psychometric properties and acceptable construct validity when used with a Chinese university students.

Death Anxiety Among Pakistani HCWs: The Role of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Positive Religious Coping Strategy

Background: The mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this, spirituality and religious coping mechanisms have been suggested as a way to maintain well-being and reduce anxiety levels. Additionally, vaccination has been shown to play an essential role in lowering anxiety levels, including death anxiety. However, there is a lack of evidence on how positive religious coping strategies and COVID-19 immunization affect death anxiety levels. To fill this gap, this study uses a Pakistani HCWs sample. Methods: This study collected cross-sectional data from 389 HCWs on socio-demographics, positive religious coping strategies, vaccine acceptance, and death anxiety. Hypothesis testing was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Partial Least Squares (PLS) by adopting the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. Results: The results showed that the positive religious coping strategy and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine reduced death anxiety among HCWs in Pakistan. HCWs practicing the positive religious coping strategy and vaccine acceptance had lower levels of death anxiety symptoms. Thus, the positive religious coping strategy has a direct effect on reducing death anxiety. Conclusion: In conclusion, COVID-19 immunization positively affects individual mental health by reducing death anxiety. Vaccines protect individuals from COVID-19 infection, providing a sense of security that reduces the chance of death anxiety among HCWs attending to COVID-19 patients.

Physical, psychological, and behavioral problems among children and adolescents in countries with different economic statuses during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted children and adolescents' physical activity (PA), sleeping patterns, and psychological and behavioral health. Yet, little is known about the differences between those in countries with various economic statuses.

Methods

Articles published from database inception through 16 March 2022 were retrieved using CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Medline, PubMed, and PsycINFO. High-quality studies that reported the number of participants with parameters associated with PA, sleeping patterns, and psychological and behavioral problems in young people aged under 18 years during the pandemic were included. We referenced the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for PA and sleep duration to provide the event rate for young people who were not compliant with the guidelines. The event rate of young people who had decreased sleep quality and experienced psychological and behavioral problems were also investigated. A subgroup analysis was conducted to identify the differences in those in countries with diverse economic statuses. Funnel plot analysis and Egger's test were also conducted to identify any risk of publication bias.

Result

A total of 66 studies with 1,371,168 participants aged between 0 and 18 years, involving 27 countries, were included. During the pandemic, we identified that 41% (95% CI: 39%, 43%; I2 = 96.62) and 43% (95% CI: 34%, 52%; I2 = 99.42) of young people did not meet the PA and sleep duration recommendation guidelines. In addition, 31% (95% CI: 28%, 35%; I2 = 99.66) of young people had decreased their sleep quality. Yet, no significant difference was found across countries with different economic statuses. However, the event rates of participants with psychological and behavioral problems were 32% (95% CI: 28%, 36%; I2 = 99.85) and 19% (95% CI: 14%, 25%; I2 = 99.72), respectively. In addition, the rate of psychological problems was more severe in those who live in lower middle-income countries (p < 0.001), while the rate of behavioral problems was more severe in those who live in high-income countries (p = 0.001).

Discussion

During the pandemic, the discouragement of PA, poor sleep quality, and high risk of psychological and behavioral problems are concerning. A large number of young people did not comply with the recommendation guidelines. Timely implementation of recovery plans is critical to address the adverse effects on young people.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=309209, identifier CRD42022309209.

A meta-analytic review of the associations between dimensions of religious coping and psychological symptoms during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unknown etiology and treatment of the highly transmissible coronavirus posed considerable threats to public mental health. Many people around the globe turned to religion as an attempt to mitigate their heightened psychological distress, but mixed findings have been obtained regarding the association between the use of religious coping and two psychological symptoms-anxiety and depressive symptoms-widely reported in the initial wave.

Objective

The present meta-analysis was conducted to resolve the empirical inconsistency by synthesizing this body of studies and identifying both individual and national-level factors that accounted for the inconsistent findings.

Methods

Following PRISMA guidelines, the literature search and data screening procedures yielded 42 eligible studies, with 25,438 participants (58% females, average age = 36.50 years) from 24 countries spanning seven world regions.

Results

Overall, the results showed that only negative religious coping was positively associated with psychological symptoms (r = 0.2886, p < 0.0001). Although the associations of both general and positive religious coping with psychological symptoms were non-significant (rs = 0.0425 and -0.0240, ps > 0.39), the moderation analysis revealed significant positive associations between positive religious coping and psychological symptoms in two demographic groups who experienced greater pandemic distress than their counterparts: younger participants and female participants.

Discussion

This meta-analysis provides a nuanced understanding of the complex nature of religious coping in the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when the levels of public anxiety and stress were heightened. The exclusive use of religious coping may not be associated with low levels of psychological symptoms, implying the importance of supplementing the deployment of this strategy with an array of other strategies. Therapists of mental health interventions should show their clients how to make good use of positive religious coping together with other strategies, and how to avoid the use of negative religious coping, to handle their psychological problems.

Systematic review registration

https://osf.io/shb32/.