Psikopatolojide Ölüm Kaygısı: Sistematik Derleme

Ölüm kaygısının birçok psikolojik durumun ortaya çıkması ve devam etmesini etkileyen tanılar üstü bir yapı olduğu öne sürülmektedir. Alan yazında ölüm kaygısı ve ruhsal bozukluklar arasındaki ilişki genellikle belirli bir ruhsal bozukluk kapsamında incelenmiştir. Bununla birlikte, ölüm kaygısı gibi tanılar üstü bileşenlere yönelik müdahalelerin birçok psikolojik bozukluk için terapi etkinliğini arttırma potansiyeline sahip olduğu ileri sürülmektedir. Bu derlemenin amacı, ölüm kaygısı ile farklı ruhsal bozukluklar arasındaki ilişkileri inceleyen çalışmaları değerlendirmek ve ölüm kaygısını değerlendirmeye yönelik ölçüm araçlarını tanıtmaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed ve APA veritabanları taranmıştır ve seçilen makalelerin referans listeleri ilgili makalelere ulaşmak için gözden geçirilmiştir. Tarama sonucunda belirlenen 933 çalışma içinde 17 makale mevcut derleme çalışmasına dahil edilme kriterlerini karşılamıştır. Çalışmalarda ölüm kaygısı ile psikolojik bozukluk arasındaki ilişki ve ölüm kaygısını değerlendirmeye yönelik kullanılan ölçüm araçları incelenmiştir. Bu derlemeye dahil edilen çalışmaların obsesif-kompulsif bozukluk, sağlık kaygısı, sosyal kaygı, depresyon, şizofreni, yaygın kaygı bozukluğu ve panik bozukluk gibi çeşitli psikolojik bozukluklarda ölüm kaygısının rolünü incelediği görülmüştür. Çalışmalardan elde edilen sonuçlar genel olarak değerlendirildiğinde, farklı ruhsal bozukluklarda yüksek düzeyde ölüm kaygısı ile psikopatoloji, belirti şiddeti, psikiyatrik ilaç kullanımı, hastaneye yatış sayısı, depresyon ve anksiyete arasında olumlu yönde bir ilişki olduğu görülmektedir. Ayrıca, ölüm kaygısını ölçmek için en yaygın kullanılan ölçüm aracının Templer Ölüm Kaygısı Ölçeği olduğu görülmektedir. Elde edilen bulgular, ölüm kaygısının birçok psikolojik bozukluğun gelişimi ya da devam etmesinde önemli bir risk faktörü olabileceğini ve ölüm kaygısının rol oynayabileceği ruhsal sorunların tedavisinde ele alınmasının önemini göstermektedir.

Death Anxiety in Psychopathology: A Systematic Review

Death anxiety has been proposed to be a transdiagnostic construct underlying the development and maintenance of numerous psychopathological conditions. The relationship between death anxiety and mental disorders has been largely studied in specific disorders. On the other hand, it has been suggested that interventions to transdiagnostic components such as death anxiety have the potential to increase therapy efficacy for many psychological disorders. Accordingly, the aim of the study was to identify studies examined relationships between death anxiety and various mental disorders and outline measurement methods for evaluating death anxiety. Of the 933 references identified at Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed and APA databases, 17 articles met inclusion criteria. In the studies, the relationship between death anxiety and psychopathology and the measurement tools used to evaluate death anxiety were examined. Studies included in this review have examined the role of death anxiety in various psychological disorders including obsessive-compulsive disorder, health anxiety, social anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. Overall, results suggested that there is a clear association between death anxiety and psychopathology, symptom severity, number of psychiatric medications and hospitalizations, depression and anxiety. Furthermore, Templer’s Death Anxiety Scale was most widely used scale for measuring death anxiety. The findings indicate that death anxiety may be an important risk factor in the development or maintaining of many psychological disorders and it is significant to include death anxiety in the treatment of mental disorders in which death anxiety may play a role.

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