Death Anxiety and Psychological Resilience in Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional and Correlational Study
Year 2025,
Volume: 15 Issue: 2, 301 - 309, 31.08.2025
Musa Özsavran
,
Dilek Yıldırım Tank
,
Büşra Ergen Turan
,
Tülay Ayyıldız
Abstract
This research explored the association between nursing students’ levels of death anxiety and psychological resilience.
This study has a descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational design. The research sample comprised 729 students enrolled in the nursing
department at the Faculty of Health Sciences of a university situated in Türkiye. The “Descriptive Information Form”, the “Abdel-Khalek
Death Anxiety Scale”, and the “Adult Psychological Resilience Scale” were used as data collection tools in the study.
The psychological resilience levels of the students had significant positive correlations with their age and class year. There was a negative
relationship between death anxiety and psychological resilience.
It was concluded that if the psychological resilience of nursing students increases, their anxiety about death will decrease. Nursing students
should be informed and supported by their educators about how to cope with the death anxiety they experience while working with
terminal patients in clinical internships, what methods to use, and the ways they can use to strengthen their coping with the condition of
patients with death anxiety.
References
-
Arslan, G. (2015). Psychometric properties of child and youth
resilience measure (CYRM-12): The study of reliability and
validity. Ege Journal of Education. 16(1), 1-12. doi:10.12984/
eed.23397
-
Aydoğan, A. S., Gülseren. Ş., Sarıkaya. Ö. Ö., Özen, Ç. (2015).
Reliability and validity of the turkish version of abdelkhalek’s
death anxiety scale among college students. Arch
Neuropsychiatr. 52, 371-375. doi:10.5152/npa.2015.8820
-
Ballesteros, M., Centeno, C., Arantzamendi, M. (2014). A
qualitative exploratory study of nursing students assessment
of the contribution of pallative care learning. Nurse Education
Today. 34(6), e1–e6. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2013.12.010
-
Birol, L. (2004). Hemşirelik süreci. 5. Baskı. Etki Matbaacılık
Yayıncılık. İzmir.
-
Cheng, L., Guo, X., Liu, H., Chen, Q., Cui, R. (2021). Hope, death
anxiety and simplified coping style scores of nursing students
during the outbreak of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study. Medicine.
100(34), e27016. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000027016
-
Cimete, G. (2002). Yaşam sonu bakım: Ölümcül hastalarda bütüncü
yaklaşım. 1. Baskı. İstanbul: Nobel Tıp Kitabevi.
-
Dong, F., Zheng, R., Chen, X., Wang, Y., Zhou, H., Sun, R. (2016).
Caring for dying cancer patients in the Chinese cultural context:
A qualitative study from the perspectives of physicians and
nurses. European Journal of Oncology Nursing. 21, 189-196.
doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2015.10.003
-
Edo-Gual, M., Tomás-Sábado, J., Gómez-Benito, J., Monforte-
Royo, C., Aradilla-Herrero, A. (2018). Spanish
adaptation of the frommelt attitude toward care
of the dying scale (FATCOD-S) in nursing undergraduates.
OMEGA-Journal of death and dying. 78(2), 120-142.
doi:10.1177/00302228166882
-
Güngörmüş, K., Okanlı, A., Kocabeyoğlu, T. (2015). Factors
influencing resilience in nursing students. Journal of Psychiatric
Nursing. 6(1), 9-14. doi:10.5505/phd.2015.80299
-
Hasheesh, M.O.A., Abo Zeid, S.A.S., El-Said, S.G., Alhujaili, A.D.
(2013). Nurses’ characteristics and their attitudes toward
death and caring for dying patients in a public hospital in
Jordan. Health Science Journal. 7(4), 384-394.
-
Ho, C.S., Chee, C.Y., Ho, R.C. (2020). Mental health strategies to
combat the psychological impact of COVID-19 beyond paranoia
and panic. Annals of the Academy of Medicine Singapore.
49(3), 155- 160. doi:10.47102/annalsacadmedsg.202043
-
İnci, F., Öz, F. (2009). Effects of death education on nurses’ death
anxiety. depression regarding death. and attitudes towards the
dying patient. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi. 10, 253-260.
-
Jafari, M., Rafiei, H., Nassehi, A., Soleimani, F., Arab, M., Noormohammadi,
M.R. (2015). Caring for dying patients: attitude of
nursing students and effects of education. Indian Journal of
Palliative Care. 21(2), 192. doi:10.4103/0973-1075.156497
-
Kandemir, F. (2020). An empirical research on the relationship of
Covid-19 pandemic generation’s religiosity and death anxiety
in the context of some demographic variables. Tokat Journal of
Ilmiyat. 8(1), 99-129. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3876200
-
Kaplan Serin, E., Doğan, R. (2023). The relationship between
anxiety and hopelessness levels among nursing students
during the COVID-19 pandemic and related factors.
OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying. 87(3), 793-813.
doi:10.1177/00302228211029144
-
Karadeniz, E. Y., Özdemir, A., Serin, E. K. (2023). The relationship
between the fear of Covid-19, death anxiety and psychological
resilience of nursing students during the pandemic process.
Mersin University Journal of Health Sciences. 16(2), 259-269.
-
Karakuş, G., Öztürk, Z., Tamam, L. (2012). Death and Death Anxiety.
Archives Medical Review Journal. 2(1), 42-79.
-
Li, S., Wang, Y., Xue, J., Zhao, N., Zhu, T. (2020). The Impact of
COVID-19 Epidemic Declaration on Psychological Consequences:
A Study on Active Weibo Users. International Journal
of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17(6), 2032.
doi:10.3390/ijerph17062032
-
Menekli, T., Fadıloğlu, Ç. (2014). Examination Perception Death and
Affecting Factors of Nursing. Journal of Anatolia Nursing and
Health Science. 17(4), 222-229. doi:10.17049/ahsbd.40758
-
Mok, E., Chiu, P.C. (2004). Nurse-patient relationships in palliative
care. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 48(5), 475-483.
Mondragón-Sánchez, E. J., Cordero, E. A. T., Espinoza, M. D. L. M.,
-
Landeros-Olvera, E. A. (2015). Comparación del nivel de miedo
a la muerte entre estudiantes y profesionales de enfermería
en México. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem. 23,
323-328.
-
Özer, Z., Yıldırım, D., Bölüktaş, R. P. (2015). Attitudes of Nursing
Students Towards Death. Journal of Economics and Social
Research. 2(4), 1-13.
-
Qiu, J., Shen, B., Zhao, M., Wang, Z., Xie, B., Xu, Y. (2020). A nationwide
survey of psychological distress among Chinese
people in the COVID-19 epidemic: Implications and policy recommendations.
Gen Psychiatr. 33(2), e100213. doi:10.1136/
gpsych-2020-100213.
-
Selçuk, K. T., Avcı, D. (2015). Sağlık Yüksek Okulu Öğrencilerinin
Ölüme Karşı Tutumları ve İlişkili Etmenler. Literatür Sempozyum
Psikiyatri/Nöroloji/Davranış Bilimleri Dergisi. 26-32.
-
Sharour, L. A., Suleiman, K., Yehya, D., Al-Kaladeh, M., Malak, M.,
Subih, K. M., Salameh, A. B. (2017). Nurses’ students’ attitudes
toward death and caring for dying cancer patients during their
placement. Euromediterranean Biomedical Journal. 12(40),
189-193. doi:10.3269/1970-5492.2017.12.40
-
Smith-Han, K., Martyn, H., Barrett, A., Nicholson, H. (2016). “That’s
not what you expect to do as a doctor. you know. you don’t
expect your patients to die.” Death as a learning experience for
undergraduate medical students. BMC Medical Education. 16,
1-8. doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0631-3
-
Şahin, G., Buzlu, S. (2017). The mediating role of perceived stress
on relationship of resilience with self efficacy social support
and the effective coping skills in nursing students. Journal of
Anatolia Nursing and Health Science. 20, 122-136.
-
Şahin, M., Demirkıran, F., Adana, F. (2016). Nursing students’
death anxiety. Influencing factors and request of caring for
dying people. Journal of Psychiatric Nursing. 7(3),135-141.
doi:10.5505/phd.2016.66588
-
Yakar, B., Batbaş, C.S., Pirinçci, E. (2021). Palliative Care and
Hospice. Journal of Continuing Medical Education. 30(2), 136-
43. doi:10.17942/sted.625696
Hemşirelik Öğrencilerinde Ölüm Anksiyetesi ve Psikolojik Dayanıklılık: Kesitsel ve Korelasyonel Bir Çalışma
Year 2025,
Volume: 15 Issue: 2, 301 - 309, 31.08.2025
Musa Özsavran
,
Dilek Yıldırım Tank
,
Büşra Ergen Turan
,
Tülay Ayyıldız
Abstract
Bu araştırmada hemşirelik bölümü öğrencilerinin ölüm anksiyetesi düzeyleri ile psikolojik sağlamlıkları arasındaki ilişki incelenmiştir.
Bu çalışma tanımlayıcı, kesitsel ve korelasyonel bir tasarıma sahiptir. Araştırmanın örneklemini Türkiye’de yer alan bir üniversitenin sağlık
bilimleri fakültesi hemşirelik bölümünde öğrenim gören 729 öğrenci oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmada veri toplama aracı olarak “Tanıtıcı Bilgi
Formu”, “Abdel-Khalek Ölüm Anksiyetesi Ölçeği” ve “Yetişkin Psikolojik Sağlamlık Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır.
Öğrencilerin psikolojik dayanıklılık düzeyleri ile yaşları ve sınıfları arasında pozitif yönde anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmuştur. Ölüm anksiyetesi
ile psikolojik dayanıklılık arasında negatif bir ilişki bulunmuştur.
Hemşirelik öğrencilerinin psikolojik dayanıklılıklarının artması durumunda ölüme ilişkin kaygılarının azalacağı sonucuna varılmıştır.
Hemşirelik öğrencileri klinik stajlarda terminal dönemdeki hastalarla çalışırken yaşadıkları ölüm anksiyetesi ile nasıl baş edecekleri,
hangi yöntemleri kullanacakları ve ölüm anksiyetesi olan hastaların durumu ile baş etmelerini güçlendirmek için kullanabilecekleri yollar
konusunda eğitimcileri tarafından bilgilendirilmeli ve desteklenmelidir.
Ethical Statement
Çalışmanın yapılabilmesi için Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit Üniversitesi İnsan Araştırmaları Etik Kurulu tarafından onay kararı alınmıştır.
Supporting Institution
Yoktur
References
-
Arslan, G. (2015). Psychometric properties of child and youth
resilience measure (CYRM-12): The study of reliability and
validity. Ege Journal of Education. 16(1), 1-12. doi:10.12984/
eed.23397
-
Aydoğan, A. S., Gülseren. Ş., Sarıkaya. Ö. Ö., Özen, Ç. (2015).
Reliability and validity of the turkish version of abdelkhalek’s
death anxiety scale among college students. Arch
Neuropsychiatr. 52, 371-375. doi:10.5152/npa.2015.8820
-
Ballesteros, M., Centeno, C., Arantzamendi, M. (2014). A
qualitative exploratory study of nursing students assessment
of the contribution of pallative care learning. Nurse Education
Today. 34(6), e1–e6. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2013.12.010
-
Birol, L. (2004). Hemşirelik süreci. 5. Baskı. Etki Matbaacılık
Yayıncılık. İzmir.
-
Cheng, L., Guo, X., Liu, H., Chen, Q., Cui, R. (2021). Hope, death
anxiety and simplified coping style scores of nursing students
during the outbreak of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study. Medicine.
100(34), e27016. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000027016
-
Cimete, G. (2002). Yaşam sonu bakım: Ölümcül hastalarda bütüncü
yaklaşım. 1. Baskı. İstanbul: Nobel Tıp Kitabevi.
-
Dong, F., Zheng, R., Chen, X., Wang, Y., Zhou, H., Sun, R. (2016).
Caring for dying cancer patients in the Chinese cultural context:
A qualitative study from the perspectives of physicians and
nurses. European Journal of Oncology Nursing. 21, 189-196.
doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2015.10.003
-
Edo-Gual, M., Tomás-Sábado, J., Gómez-Benito, J., Monforte-
Royo, C., Aradilla-Herrero, A. (2018). Spanish
adaptation of the frommelt attitude toward care
of the dying scale (FATCOD-S) in nursing undergraduates.
OMEGA-Journal of death and dying. 78(2), 120-142.
doi:10.1177/00302228166882
-
Güngörmüş, K., Okanlı, A., Kocabeyoğlu, T. (2015). Factors
influencing resilience in nursing students. Journal of Psychiatric
Nursing. 6(1), 9-14. doi:10.5505/phd.2015.80299
-
Hasheesh, M.O.A., Abo Zeid, S.A.S., El-Said, S.G., Alhujaili, A.D.
(2013). Nurses’ characteristics and their attitudes toward
death and caring for dying patients in a public hospital in
Jordan. Health Science Journal. 7(4), 384-394.
-
Ho, C.S., Chee, C.Y., Ho, R.C. (2020). Mental health strategies to
combat the psychological impact of COVID-19 beyond paranoia
and panic. Annals of the Academy of Medicine Singapore.
49(3), 155- 160. doi:10.47102/annalsacadmedsg.202043
-
İnci, F., Öz, F. (2009). Effects of death education on nurses’ death
anxiety. depression regarding death. and attitudes towards the
dying patient. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi. 10, 253-260.
-
Jafari, M., Rafiei, H., Nassehi, A., Soleimani, F., Arab, M., Noormohammadi,
M.R. (2015). Caring for dying patients: attitude of
nursing students and effects of education. Indian Journal of
Palliative Care. 21(2), 192. doi:10.4103/0973-1075.156497
-
Kandemir, F. (2020). An empirical research on the relationship of
Covid-19 pandemic generation’s religiosity and death anxiety
in the context of some demographic variables. Tokat Journal of
Ilmiyat. 8(1), 99-129. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3876200
-
Kaplan Serin, E., Doğan, R. (2023). The relationship between
anxiety and hopelessness levels among nursing students
during the COVID-19 pandemic and related factors.
OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying. 87(3), 793-813.
doi:10.1177/00302228211029144
-
Karadeniz, E. Y., Özdemir, A., Serin, E. K. (2023). The relationship
between the fear of Covid-19, death anxiety and psychological
resilience of nursing students during the pandemic process.
Mersin University Journal of Health Sciences. 16(2), 259-269.
-
Karakuş, G., Öztürk, Z., Tamam, L. (2012). Death and Death Anxiety.
Archives Medical Review Journal. 2(1), 42-79.
-
Li, S., Wang, Y., Xue, J., Zhao, N., Zhu, T. (2020). The Impact of
COVID-19 Epidemic Declaration on Psychological Consequences:
A Study on Active Weibo Users. International Journal
of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17(6), 2032.
doi:10.3390/ijerph17062032
-
Menekli, T., Fadıloğlu, Ç. (2014). Examination Perception Death and
Affecting Factors of Nursing. Journal of Anatolia Nursing and
Health Science. 17(4), 222-229. doi:10.17049/ahsbd.40758
-
Mok, E., Chiu, P.C. (2004). Nurse-patient relationships in palliative
care. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 48(5), 475-483.
Mondragón-Sánchez, E. J., Cordero, E. A. T., Espinoza, M. D. L. M.,
-
Landeros-Olvera, E. A. (2015). Comparación del nivel de miedo
a la muerte entre estudiantes y profesionales de enfermería
en México. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem. 23,
323-328.
-
Özer, Z., Yıldırım, D., Bölüktaş, R. P. (2015). Attitudes of Nursing
Students Towards Death. Journal of Economics and Social
Research. 2(4), 1-13.
-
Qiu, J., Shen, B., Zhao, M., Wang, Z., Xie, B., Xu, Y. (2020). A nationwide
survey of psychological distress among Chinese
people in the COVID-19 epidemic: Implications and policy recommendations.
Gen Psychiatr. 33(2), e100213. doi:10.1136/
gpsych-2020-100213.
-
Selçuk, K. T., Avcı, D. (2015). Sağlık Yüksek Okulu Öğrencilerinin
Ölüme Karşı Tutumları ve İlişkili Etmenler. Literatür Sempozyum
Psikiyatri/Nöroloji/Davranış Bilimleri Dergisi. 26-32.
-
Sharour, L. A., Suleiman, K., Yehya, D., Al-Kaladeh, M., Malak, M.,
Subih, K. M., Salameh, A. B. (2017). Nurses’ students’ attitudes
toward death and caring for dying cancer patients during their
placement. Euromediterranean Biomedical Journal. 12(40),
189-193. doi:10.3269/1970-5492.2017.12.40
-
Smith-Han, K., Martyn, H., Barrett, A., Nicholson, H. (2016). “That’s
not what you expect to do as a doctor. you know. you don’t
expect your patients to die.” Death as a learning experience for
undergraduate medical students. BMC Medical Education. 16,
1-8. doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0631-3
-
Şahin, G., Buzlu, S. (2017). The mediating role of perceived stress
on relationship of resilience with self efficacy social support
and the effective coping skills in nursing students. Journal of
Anatolia Nursing and Health Science. 20, 122-136.
-
Şahin, M., Demirkıran, F., Adana, F. (2016). Nursing students’
death anxiety. Influencing factors and request of caring for
dying people. Journal of Psychiatric Nursing. 7(3),135-141.
doi:10.5505/phd.2016.66588
-
Yakar, B., Batbaş, C.S., Pirinçci, E. (2021). Palliative Care and
Hospice. Journal of Continuing Medical Education. 30(2), 136-
43. doi:10.17942/sted.625696