Death Obsession in Arabic and Western Countries

The current investigation compared a measure of death obsession among 1,853 volunteer undergraduates from four Arab countries (Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Syria) with 791 from three Western countries, i.e., Britain, Spain, and the USA. Comparable Arabic, Spanish, and English versions of the Death Obsession Scale were used. The mean scores on death obsession for the Arabic participants were higher than those of their Western counterparts for both men and women.

The comparison of predictors of death obsession within two cultures

The objective of the study was to compare various predictors of death obsession (i.e., anxiety, optimism, pessimism), and self-ratings of religiosity, physical health, mental health, happiness, and satisfaction with life, among 2 samples of college students recruited from two different cultures: Kuwait (n = 271) and United Kingdom (n = 205). The findings suggest that anxiety, among both samples, pessimism among the Kuwait sample, and (un) happiness among the U.K. sample, might provide a good theoretical and empirical context with which to better understand the causes and consequences of death obsession.

Death obsession in Palestinians

The authors explored death obsession level and correlates among a sample (N = 601) of Palestinians living in the city of Beit Jala, the village of Al-Khader, and the Aida refugee camp in the Bethlehem area. They live in war conditions; the houses of half of them have been demolished. The Death Obsession Scale (DOS) was administered. Its alpha reliability was .92, denoting high internal consistency. Among women, it yielded 1 factor, (General Death Obsession), whereas among men it yielded 3 factors: Death Rumination, Death Dominance, and Death Idea Repetition. Palestinian men and women attained significantly lower DOS mean scores than participants from 4 Arab countries: Egypt, Kuwait, Syria, and Lebanon in 7 out of 8 comparisons. However, Palestinian women had significantly higher DOS mean score than their Spanish, American and British counterparts, whereas Palestinian men had significantly higher mean DOS score than Spanish peers. The low DOS scores of Palestinians, in proportion to other Arab samples, may reflect their adaptation to strife and violence.

Death obsession in Kuwaiti and American college students

Two samples of Kuwaiti (n = 460) and American (n = 273) male and female undergraduates responded to the Death Obsession Scale (DOS) in Arabic and English, respectively. Cronbach's alpha reliability statistics were .96 and .91, respectively, denoting high internal consistency. In the same vein, all the item-remainder correlations in both samples were significant denoting item validity and content validity. A general factor of death obsession was disclosed in the Kuwaiti sample, whereas two salient factors (death rumination, and death dominance and repetition) were extracted in the American sample. Gender-related differences were significant in the Kuwaiti sample, that is, females attained higher mean score than their male counterparts, whereas there were no significant gender differences in the American sample. Kuwaiti students attained significantly higher mean DOS score than their American counterparts in the total and all the individual items of the DOS.

The course of the marriage of Elizabeth Montagu: an ambitious and talented woman without means

Based on a study of the Montagu Collection of letters housed in the Huntington Library, this article analyzes the apparent motives behind the marriage between Elizabeth and Edward Montagu and the slow but sure emergence of evidence of her growing dissatisfaction with it. It reveals the various ways in which she sought distraction from her marriage and her attempts to compensate for it. Behind her growing restlessness and frustration, there lie aspects of her character—her obsession with money, her urgent need to be constantly admired and lauded, and her need to be in control of both people and things.

Obsessional harassment and erotomania in a criminal court population

The criminal behaviors of harassment and menacing are difficult to control, and of increasing concern to the general public and local law enforcement officials. In 1992, the New York State Legislature modified the Penal Law, responding to public fears and concerns that stalking behavior may become violent. Some persons charged with these types of offenses are suffering from psychiatric disorders. Among these disorders are those classified as Delusional Disorders. According to both DSM-III-R (1987-1993) and DSM-IV (1994), there are five specific types of Delusional Disorder: erotomanic, grandiose, jealous, persecutory and somatic. This type of disorder tends to be chronic. Forty eight cases of persons charged with harassment and menacing in the New York County Criminal and Supreme Court and referred for evaluation to the Forensic Psychiatry Clinic between January 1987 and January 1994 are reviewed. When cases of erotomania and other affectionate/amorous complaints were compared with persecutory/angry forms of harassing behavior, there was a great deal of similarity. When all harassers were compared to the Clinic population as a whole, major differences in ethnicity, age, educational level and sex were noted. Findings are presented regarding incidence, other demographic data, recidivism, violence and clinical diagnosis. The researchers conclude that erotomania does exist, however, there are other psychiatric disorders which can also be diagnosed in individuals accused of harassing and menacing behavior. From the point of view of the victim and the criminal justice system, the similarities in behavior patterns are more important than the different diagnoses.