A Comparative Study of Death Anxiety Levels and Reflections among University Students

Year 2021, , 109 - 131, 15.10.2021

Çağla Atmaca

https://doi.org/10.37898/spc.2021.6.3.156

Cited By: 1

Abstract

This concurrent mixed-method research study aimed to validate the psychometric properties of Templer Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS) and compare death anxiety reflections of 332 university students at English Language Teaching (ELT) and English Language and Literature (ELL) departments at a state university in Turkey. The data were collected through the TDAS and semi-structured interviews. According to statistical results, the four-factor model of TDAS was confirmed in this study. Also, department and gender were associated with differences among the participants. In light of phenomenological analyses of the interviews, both ELT and ELL students mostly defined death as a state such as infinity, darkness, inception, endlessness, salvation, freedom, annihilation, uncertainty, and eternity. As for the symbols, the ELT participants used events like traffic accident, sudden death, flying, voyage to symbolise death whereas the ELL participants used some states like innocence, freedom, emptiness, coldness, darkness, loneliness to symbolise death. The results offer a new perspective for death anxiety research in terms of including a different group of participants and highlighting changing attitudes of ELL and ELT students towards death and death anxiety. Educational implications are also discussed.

Keywords

Death anxiety, Death attitudes, Death education, pre-service teacher education, University students

Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Ölüm Kaygısı Düzeyleri ve Yansımaları Üzerine Karşılaştırmalı Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Eş zamanlı karma yöntemle yürütülen bu çalışma, Templer Ölüm Kaygısı Ölçeği’nin psikometrik özelliklerini doğrulamayı ve Türkiye’deki bir devlet üniversitesinde İngiliz Dili Eğitimi ve İngiliz Dili ve Edebiyatı bölümlerinde eğitim gören 332 üniversite öğrencisinin ölüm kaygısı yansımalarını karşılaştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Veriler, Templer Ölüm Kaygısı Ölçeği ve yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yoluyla toplanmıştır. İstatistiksel sonuçlara göre, bu çalışmada Templer Ölüm Kaygısı Ölçeği’nin dört faktörlü modeli doğrulanmıştır. Ayrıca bölüm ve cinsiyet unsurları katılımcılar arasındaki farklılıklarla ilişkilendirilmiştir. Görüşmelerin fenomonolojik analizleri ışığında, her iki bölümde eğitim gören öğrenciler ölümü çoğunlukla sonsuzluk, karanlık, başlangıç, kurtuluş, özgürlük, yok olma, belirsizlik gibi bir durum olarak tanımlamışlardır. Semboller konusunda ise, İngiliz Dili Eğitimi bölümü öğrencileri ölümü simgelemek için trafik kazası, ani ölüm, uçma, yolculuk gibi olayları kullanırken İngiliz Dili ve Edebiyatı bölümü öğrencileri ölümü simgelemek için masumiyet, özgürlük, boşluk, soğukluk, karanlık, yalnızlık gibi durumları kullanmışlardır. Araştırma sonuçları, farklı bir katılımcı grubunu inceleme ve iki farklı bölümdeki öğrencilerinin ölüm ve ölüm kaygısına yönelik değişen tutumlarını vurgulama açısından ölüm kaygısı araştırmaları için yeni bir bakış açısı sunmaktadır. Eğitsel uygulamalar ayrıca tartışılmaktadır.

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