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Fear of Death, Concept of a Good Death and Self-Compassion Among University Students in Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Study

2025-09-22Artigo científico Acesso aberto
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datacite.subject.fosCiências Médicas::Ciências da Saúde
datacite.subject.sdg03:Saúde de Qualidade
dc.contributor.authorPereira, Marisa
dc.contributor.authorAli, Amira Mohammed
dc.contributor.authorFekih-Romdhane, Feten
dc.contributor.authorYıldırım, Murat
dc.contributor.authorLaranjeira, Carlos
dc.date.accessioned2025-10-17T11:13:44Z
dc.date.available2025-10-17T11:13:44Z
dc.date.issued2025-09-22
dc.descriptionArticle number - 2382
dc.description.abstractBackground/Objectives: 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. Methods: 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 t-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. Results: 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 (p < 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 (p < 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). Conclusions: 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.eng
dc.description.sponsorshipThis study was supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (UID/05704/2023), and by the Scientific Employment Stimulus—Institutional Call -https://doi.org/10.54499/CEECINST/00051/2018/CP1566/CT0012, accessed on 15 September 2025].
dc.identifier.citationPereira, M.; Ali, A.M.; Fekih-Romdhane, F.; Yıldırım, M.; Laranjeira, C. Fear of Death, Concept of a Good Death and Self-Compassion Among University Students in Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Study. Healthcare 2025, 13, 2382. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13182382
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/healthcare13182382
dc.identifier.eissn2227-9032
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/14303
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.relation.hasversionhttps://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/13/18/2382
dc.relation.ispartofHealthcare
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectDeath education
dc.subjectFear of death
dc.subjectGood death
dc.subjectSelf-compassion
dc.subjectStudents
dc.subjectSurvey
dc.titleFear of Death, Concept of a Good Death and Self-Compassion Among University Students in Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Studyeng
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.issue18
oaire.citation.titleHealthcare
oaire.citation.volume13
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyNameLaranjeira
person.givenNameCarlos
person.identifier.orcid0000-0003-1080-9535
person.identifier.scopus-author-id22957802900
relation.isAuthorOfPublication7c2157d8-cac9-4004-9438-e92fec260842
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery7c2157d8-cac9-4004-9438-e92fec260842

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