Abstract

The Reliability, Validity, and Factorial Structure of the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale in a Sample of Iranian Nurses

The fear of death is an emotional reaction involving subjective feelings of unpleasantness and concern based on contemplation or anticipation of any of the several facts related to death. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate reliability, validity, and factorial structure of the Farsi version of Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (CLFDS) in 106 Iranian nurses from two hospitals at Tehran city, Iran. They were selected using a convenience sampling method, and completed the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (CLFDS), the Death Concern Scale (DCS), the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS), the Reasons for Death Fear Scale (RDFS), the Death Depression Scale (DDS), and the Death Obsession Scale (DOS). The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the CLFDS was 0.94, the Spearman-Brown coefficient 0.83, the Guttman Split-Half coefficient 0.83, and two-week test-retest reliability 0.58. Cronbach alpha coefficients for the four subscales of the CLFDS were 0.79 for Your own death, 0.90 for Your own dying, 0.75 for The death of others, and 0.90 for The dying of others. The CLFDS correlated 0.51 with the DCS, 0.38 with the DAS, 0.39 with the RDFS, 0.39 with the DDS, and 0.46 with the DOS, significant at the .01 level and indicating good construct and criterion-related validity. The results of the factor analysis of the CLFDS items identified 7 factors, four of which had 4 or more items loaded on them and matching the labels of the four subscales The CLFDS, therefore, appears to have good validity and reliability, and it can be used in clinical, educational, and research settings.

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