Relationship of death anxiety and subjective happiness among young and elder pregnant women

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy is the period from implantation until delivery, also known as gravidity/ gestation. Both physiological and psychological changes take place in a woman during pregnancy. The objective of the present study was to compare death anxiety and subjective happiness between young and elder pregnant women. Method: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in the Gynaecology Wards of hospitals and private clinics in Rawalpindi/Islamabad, from March to October 2017. Two hundred and four pregnant women were included through non-probability purposive sampling. The subjects were divided into younger and elder pregnant women groups. The study variables were measured through Subjective Happiness Scale-Urdu SHS-U and Death Anxiety Scale-Urdu DAS-U. Data was analysed using Mean±SD, and Student’s t-test. Results: Psychometric properties showed high reliability of study instruments, for DAS-U (?=0.86) and SHS-U (?=0.84). There was significant difference in anxiety and subjective happiness between young and elder pregnant women. Elder women reported high scores on Death Anxiety Scale and low score on Subjective Happiness Scale (p<0.001). Conclusion: Elder pregnant women experience more death anxiety and low subjective happiness than young pregnant women.

Pak J Physiol 2019;15(4):56?8