Pereira Marisa, Ali Amira Mohammed, Fekih-Romdhane Feten, Yıldırım Murat, Laranjeira Carlos
School of Health Sciences, Polytechnic University of Leiria, Campus 2, Morro do Lena, Alto do Vieiro, Apartado 4137, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal.
ULS Oeste-USF Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, Rua do Centro de Saúde, s/n, 2500-941 Caldas da Rainha, Portugal.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Sep 22;13(18):2382. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13182382.
Historically, humankind has consistently regarded death as an uncomfortable topic. Although death and dying are unescapable, they are frequently overlooked in formal education, as discussing or acknowledging them is believed to provoke emotional or psychological discomfort. To the best of our knowledge, little is known about the influence of the fear of death on the lives of university students. To fill this gap, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the concept of a good death, fear of death and self-compassion among university students in Portugal. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Portugal between November 2024 and January 2025 with 310 university students using an e-survey. Personal questionnaire and the Portuguese versions of the Good Death Concept Scale, the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale, and the Self-Compassion Scale were used. JAMOVI statistical software (version 2.7.6.) was used for descriptive analysis, independent sample -tests, one-way ANOVA with post hoc analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis. To identify the factors associated with fear of death, a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted. This study adhered to the STROBE checklist for reporting. A total of 310 students were included. The average age was 25 ± 8.52 years, and 75.2% were female. The total mean score for fear of death was 99.22 ± 21.97, indicating relatively low fear levels. However, health sciences students presented higher fear of death rates compared with non-health counterparts. Age and gender differences were also found, with female and younger students reporting significantly higher levels of fear of death ( < 0.01). The Pearson correlation matrix indicated that fear of death is positively correlated with the concept of a good death, while negatively correlated with self-compassion ( < 0.01). Key factors influencing fear of death include age, gender, closure and control domains, and the overidentification subscale (adjusted R-Squared valued [R2] = 0.352). The results suggest that students are often poorly prepared to deal with death-related issues (revealing fear) and with negative thoughts and feelings about mortality. In this vein, it is necessary to implement curricular educational interventions focusing on death education as well as actively involving students in compassionate community initiatives, increasing their awareness and self-confidence about EoL care.
从历史上看，人类一直将死亡视为一个令人不适的话题。尽管死亡和濒死是不可避免的，但它们在正规教育中却常常被忽视，因为人们认为讨论或承认它们会引发情感或心理上的不适。据我们所知，关于对死亡的恐惧对大学生生活的影响，人们了解得很少。为了填补这一空白，本研究旨在探讨葡萄牙大学生中善终观念、对死亡的恐惧和自我同情之间的关系。这项横断面研究于2024年11月至2025年1月在葡萄牙进行，对310名大学生进行了电子调查。使用了个人问卷以及善终观念量表、科利特 - 莱斯特死亡恐惧量表和自我同情量表的葡萄牙语版本。使用JAMOVI统计软件（版本2.7.6）进行描述性分析、独立样本t检验、事后分析的单因素方差分析以及皮尔逊相关分析。为了确定与对死亡的恐惧相关的因素，进行了多元线性回归分析。本研究遵循了STROBE报告清单。总共纳入了310名学生。平均年龄为25±8.52岁，75.2%为女性。对死亡的恐惧的总平均分为99.22±21.97，表明恐惧水平相对较低。然而，与非健康专业的学生相比，健康科学专业的学生对死亡的恐惧率更高。还发现了年龄和性别差异，女性和年轻学生报告的对死亡的恐惧水平明显更高（P<0.01）。皮尔逊相关矩阵表明，对死亡的恐惧与善终观念呈正相关，而与自我同情呈负相关（P<0.01）。影响对死亡的恐惧的关键因素包括年龄、性别、结局和控制领域以及过度认同子量表（调整后的决定系数[R2]=0.352）。结果表明，学生们往往没有做好应对与死亡相关问题（表现出恐惧）以及对死亡的消极想法和感受的准备。有鉴于此，有必要实施以死亡教育为重点的课程教育干预措施，并积极让学生参与富有同情心的社区倡议，提高他们对临终关怀的认识和自信。
