The role of mindfulness and social support in the prediction of death anxiety in elderly

Background: Attention to the issues and needs of the elderly is a social necessity. A common feature of the elderly is the death anxiety, which is closely related to mindfulness beliefs and the level of social support of the elderly. Objectives: to determine the relationship and predictive value of mindfulness and social support for death anxiety among the elderly. Materials & Methods: The present study is descriptive and correlational. The statistical population of this research was all elderly people in Rasht city in the north of Iran in 2018. Of these, 200 elderly people were selected as available. To collecting data the Templer’s death anxiety questionnaire (1970), Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory-Short form (Wallach et al, 2006) and Sherborn & Stewart medical outcomes study-social support survey (1991) were used and data analyzed by SPSS (Version 24). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. Results: The results showed that mindfulness and social support had a significant relationship with death anxiety (P<0.01). Beta coefficients of predictive variables showed that mindfulness and social support had a significant predictive value for death anxiety (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that mindfulness and social support predict death anxiety among elderly. As the mindfulness and social support of each person increase, the score of death anxiety in the elderly decreases significantly

Keywords:

Death Anxiety , Social Support , Mindfulness , Elderly