Does Death Anxiety Influence Psychological Adjustment Differently in Chronic and Non-Chronic Individuals?

Chronic patients have maladjustment problem than non-chronic individuals. So, it is important for the family members as well as the patients to keep knowledge about these factors. So that the patients could get proper care and attention from the family members as well as friends and relatives. Sometimes, they need counseling to heal their psychological adjustment problem. This present study explored relations of death anxiety and psychological adjustment between chronic and non-chronic individuals. The main objectives of the study were to find out the relationship between death anxiety and psychological adjustment, to see the difference between death anxiety and psychological adjustment according to gender, to see the death anxiety level of chronic and non-chronic individuals and to see the psychological adjustment level of chronic and non-chronic individuals. A questionnaire package comprising Death Anxiety Scale, Psychological Adjustment Scale along with a Personal Information Form (PIF) was administered on a purposive sample of 165 individuals. Where 52.1% were chronic patients and 47.9% were non-chronic individuals of the total participants. The age ranging between 18 to 65 years old. Results of Pearson product moment correlation showed higher death anxiety is significantly associated with higher psychological maladjustment. It also shows that chronic individuals are more psychologically maladjusted than non-chronic patients. It is valuable to understand factors that may influence psychological adjustment in chronic patients. Overall, the results highlight the need for psychological interventions, counselling, and family involvement in helping chronically ill patients, as well as the for clinicians to address death anxiety and related existential issues during assessment and care.