General beliefs about the world as defensive mechanisms against death anxiety

Culture and attitudes towards contraception of women in subsistence markets: the role of values and social axioms

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of culture on attitudes to contraception by rural-based women in a developing economy.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on data collected from 395 rural women in Eastern Zimbabwe, this study examines the hypothesized relationships between values (resultant conservation, resultant self-enhancement), social axioms (reward for application, social cynicism, religiosity, social complexity, fate control and Ubuntu) and contraceptive attitudes, considering the moderating effects of age and education.

Findings

Using covariance-based Structural Equation Modelling and Multi-Group Analysis, this study found that resultant self-enhancement, fate control, the reward for application and religiosity significantly relate to attitudes to contraception whilst resultant conservation, social complexity, Ubuntu and social cynicism, did not produce significant correlations. Age and education moderate the significant relationships.

Research limitations/implications

The study's findings suggest that contraception social marketers, non-governmental organizations and health practitioners should develop marketing strategies to neutralize the negative impact of these beliefs held by rural contraceptive consumers to increase contraceptive awareness and uptake in such subsistence markets. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence on the role of Ubuntu as a new culture construct in African markets.

Originality/value

Despite being limited to a single developing economy, this paper extends prior research on consumer culture and attitudes on contraception use by exploring the role of values and social axioms, an imperative issue for rural women health and general subsistence market well-being.

Social axioms on high school students in the North African context: Validation and fit of the SAS-II

Social axioms or general social beliefs represent people’s cognitive map of their social world acquired through social experiences. Empirical research has related the central constructs in the study of psychology and social axioms, establishing a broad nomological network in various cultural settings. This paper studies the validity of the Social Axioms Survey II (SAS-II) short form, Spanish version, on the individual level in Melilla as North Africa´s borderland. Participants were 410 high school students from 14 to 18 years of age. The reliability analysis, the discriminant validity analysis, and the confirmatory factor analysis through the structural model equation, showed similar results to previous studies in other contexts and allowing the use of the survey in Melilla. In addition it is presented a fitted model that improves the psychometric results showing significant differences with the initial model. The confirmatory multi-group analysis of the fitted model shows measurement invariance across educational centers, allowing new research possibilities in the cultural context of Melilla.

Fate control and ingroup bias in donation for the fight with the coronavirus pandemic: The mediating role of risk perception of COVID-19

Ingroup bias could be a significant hindrance in a context where intergroup collaboration is crucial, which makes it essential to investigate ingroup bias during pandemics. This research investigated the influence of individuals' belief in fate control on ingroup bias in helping with COVID-19, and the mediating role of risk perception of COVID-19. To test our hypothesis, we analyzed the data from a community sample (n = 318) collected at the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. We found that fate control was positively associated with ingroup bias in donation to the patients with COVID-19 and the frontline healthcare professionals. Moreover, the mediating role of risk perception of COVID-19 was significant. A higher level of fate control was associated with higher risk perception of COVID-19, which was, in turn, related to stronger ingroup bias in donation across individuals. These findings highlight the substantial role of general worldview in shaping individuals' responses to pandemics.

Does Believing in Fate Facilitate Active or Avoidant Coping? The Effects of Fate Control on Coping Strategies and Mental Well-Being

The development of control-related constructs has involved different approaches over time, and yet internal and external locus of control are conceptualized as dichotomous factors influencing active versus avoidant coping strategies. While external control is associated with avoidance, a similar belief construct fate control, which denotes that life events are pre-determined and influenced by external forces but predictable and alterable, challenges the assumption of incompatibility between fate and agency. To develop a dynamic model of control, we suggest that external control would affect avoidant coping, which in turn would affect psychological distress, whereas fate control would affect both active and avoidant coping when dealing with stress. The model was supported among Hong Kong Chinese using a cross-sectional approach in Study 1 (n = 251) and hypothetical stressful scenarios in Study 2 (n = 294). The moderating effect of perceived controllability was observed in coping behaviors using a diary approach in Study 3 (n = 188). Our findings offer an alternative perspective to the dichotomous view of control and provide implications for coping strategies and mental well-being.

Faith Maturity and Mental Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study of Indian American Followers of a Guru Tradition

This article is based on a longitudinal study of Indian Americans devoted to a guru tradition, aiming to explore how faith contributes to their mental well-being. Respondent sample size at phase 1 (2003-2004) was 1872 and at phase 2 (2013-2014) was 1764. Two scales were used to measure faith maturity and well-being. Results showed that phase 2 well-being scores of the devotees were higher, influenced by faith maturity and engagement regularity, thereby corroborating the faith-religiosity-well-being link, further reinforced by the structural equation model. Faith emerges as critical variable in working with this cohort and planning interventions towards promoting their well-being.

The Increment of Social Axioms over Broad Personality Traits in the Prediction of Dyadic Adjustment: An Investigation across Four Ethnic Groups

This study investigates the relationship between personality, social axioms, and dyadic adjustment. A sample of 420 participants (210 heterosexual couples), approximately evenly distributed between four ethnic backgrounds (Romanian, Hungarian, German, and Rroma), was investigated in a cross–sectional approach with the Romanian versions of the Social Axioms Survey, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The analyses were based on the actor–partner interdependence model. The results showed that social axioms show incremental validity over personality traits in the prediction of dyadic adjustment, attesting to the usefulness of a worldview measure in predicting interpersonal outcomes over and above that provided by a measure of personality. Three of the five dimensions of social axioms were associated with dyadic adjustment, with either actor or partner effects. A few significant differences have been found between the various ethnic groups on effects of the social axioms on dyadic adjustment: The positive actor effect of reward for application is not visible for German men, the negative partner effect of social cynicism is not detectable for Rroma men, and the negative partner effect of social complexity is not visible for Rroma women. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology

Death Anxiety Resilience; a Mixed Methods Investigation

Research was conducted examining how death anxiety influenced PTSD and mental health among people who have experienced a life-threatening event. This study was conducted using undergraduate university students in Lithuania. The study used a mixed-method design and in phase 1, participants (N = 97) completed self-report questionnaires that gathered information on demographics, death anxiety, trauma and well-being. Data indicated a significant correlation between death anxiety and PTSD, but not psychiatric co-morbidity. Phase 2 attempted to further explore the phenomenological experience of participants with full PTSD, and 6 semi-structured interviews were conducted. IPA analysis found three major themes in response to the life-threatening event; self-efficacy, religious coping and existential attitude. Overall these coping mechanisms allowed participants to develop resilience against the effects of death anxiety and minimize its negative impact on mental health.

The Impact of Death Education on Fear of Death and Death Anxiety Among Human Services Students

Human services professionals will undoubtedly work with the dying and bereaved populations at one time or other. Yet, they are poorly prepared to do so since death education, that is, lessons about the human and emotional aspects of death, its implications, and subsequent bereavement issues, is often not part of their curriculum. This nonequivalent comparison group study (N = 86) examined death fear and death anxiety among human services students before and after receiving death education using the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale. The results showed a statistically significant decrease in death anxiety among the group of students who participated in death education compared to those who did not.

Coping and Attitudes Toward Dying and Death in German Adults

The idea of an existential threat caused by the awareness of mortality has been rarely investigated within coping research. The study explores relationships between coping strategies and attitudes toward dying and death in a sample of German adults aged 20 to 93 years. Participants responded to a Stress Coping Inventory and a questionnaire for the multidimensional assessment of attitudes toward dying and death. Pearson correlations for men, women, and the young and old age-groups confirm the expectation that attitudes toward dying and death are mainly associated with disengagement and accommodative coping. Gender- and age-specific findings refer to drug intake and aggression. Results are discussed within both a coping and a thanatological frame of reference and issues for future research are outlined.

Preferences on End-Of-Life Decisions Among Older Chinese in Macau

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to learn about the perspectives on end-of-life decision making among older Chinese people in Macau. Method: A qualitative approach was used, and interviews were conducted with 18 Chinese aged 65 years or older. Results: Four major themes were identified: (a) institutionalized care at the end of life was preferred as not to be a burden on family, (b) life-prolonging measures were not preferred, (c) funeral arrangement preferences were based on personal and religious beliefs, and (d) end-of-life decision making would be deferred to others. Discussion and Conclusions: These themes provide an understanding of personal preferences of older Chinese on end-of-life issues, and personal preferences are always secondary to their respect toward family and medical doctors. This compliance with family and medical authority can be understood through Chinese cultural beliefs. Implications for Practice: Knowledge of cultural influences is needed for nursing professionals to deal effectively with older adults and families regarding end-of-life issues.

Gratitude orientation reduces death anxiety but not positive and negative affect

This study aims at investigating whether a gratitude induction procedure can reduce death anxiety and promote emotional well-being. Ninety Chinese undergraduate students were randomly assigned into one of three experimental conditions: gratitude, hassle, and neutral. In each condition, participants were instructed to spend 15-20 minutes to reflect on past events and to write up to five events of the designated category. Subsequently, they responded to measures of death anxiety and affect. Results showed that those in the gratitude condition reported much lower death anxiety than those in the neutral or the hassle group. However, gratitude had no effect on positive or negative affect. The findings suggest that the effect of gratitude may be specific to death anxiety, which does not occur in the context of the enhancement of overall emotional well-being.

English Adaptation versus Mother Tongue: Reliability of the English Version of Moddi—F Administered to Hong Kong Chinese College Students

Two samples of Hong Kong college students completed the English and the Chinese version of the Multidimensional Orientation Toward Dying and Death Inventory (MODDI—F), respectively. Results show substantially lower coefficients of internal consistency in the English version when compared with its Chinese counterpart. The construct validity of the instrument, i.e., the statistical relationships between its subtests, was confirmed. Whenever available, the use of a questionnaire that is worded in the participants' mother tongue is recommended.

Measuring spirituality, religiosity, and denial in individuals working in funeral service to predict death anxiety

The aim of the present study was to examine predictors of death anxiety in U.S. funeral directors/embalmers who were part of a larger study (n = 234). Backward stepwise multiple regression was conducted to determine whether or not spirituality, intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, and denial predicted levels of death anxiety. Results indicated that spirituality along with age of the participants accounted for 19% of the variance of death anxiety, R2 = .190, R2(adj) = .180, F(2, 168) = 19.64, p < .001. Intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, and denial were not significant in the regression model. Several items, however, in the model had a significant positive correlation with each other at the .01 alpha level including spirituality with intrinsic religiosity (r = .63) and age (r = .21), and intrinsic religiosity with denial (r = .22) and age (r = .24). Other variables correlated negatively with one another at the .01 alpha level. Namely, death anxiety with spirituality (-.38), intrinsic religiosity (r = -.36), and age (-.28); spirituality with extrinsic religiosity (-.22); intrinsic religiosity with extrinsic religiosity (-.45); and extrinsic religiosity with age (r = -.19). Limitations of the study and implications for practice were discussed.