Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

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Extended Abstract

1.Introduction

Recent research shows that grief over the death of a loved one from COVID-19 is actually more severe than that caused by other forms of loss, such as death from natural causes (1). As the effects of the death of a family member has a high psychological burden on the family (2). COVID-19 death statistics show that many people in families experience the loss and grief of loved ones; However, due to the epidemic nature of the virus and due to the observance of health protocols, it is not even possible for the survivors to mourn, and this makes the experience of the death of loved ones more painful and reduces the possibility of facing this loss ( 2). When mourning, the meaning of life changes; Because closeness to death can make people vulnerable to mortality; In other words, finding the meaning of life in times of mourning and injury faces challenges (3).

Another variable examined in this study is spiritual health. According to Frankel's model, seeking meaning and coming out of oneself contributes a lot to the manifestation of human spiritual nature, which predicts an increase in spiritual paths and the meaning of life (11). In fact, spiritual health can act as a resilient factor when people deal with a traumatic factor such as grief (14).

In the absence of flexibility, people do not find the original answer to their existential experience and face the crisis of achieving the meaning of life, which is called the syndrome of low mood, which is one of the manifestations of existential annoyance and at the same time indicates lack of cohesion and integrity. Is known (16). In general, researchers around the world are currently looking for programs to deal with this storm of untimely and unpredictable coronavirus in order to find a way to the deadly blows of this virus and the psychological damage caused by it. Because the corona pandemic has led to many psychological traumas in COVID-19 mourners (2). As the bereaved people at this time have suffered a lot from the physical and psychological effects of the virus, and this reminds us of the need for more research to find a solution to this damage. COVID-19 may be perceived as an ever-present fact of life that has left its mark on behavior and psychological dimensions, an effect that even individuals may not be consciously aware of. Recent findings suggest that fear of death in bereaved individuals predicts anxiety about the virus, which in turn leads to greater psychological distress (20). The researcher, therefore, seeks to answer the question of whether the meaning of life can be predicted on the basis of death anxiety, spiritual health, and demoralization in the mourners of Covid-19.

2.Methods

For the present applied research, which was conducted by correlation method, among the citizens of Tehran between the ages of 25 and 70 in the spring of 1400, who lost at least one first-degree member of their family due to COVID-19, 215 Internet were selected as a sample. The method was as follows: After identifying people with experience of grief, provided they meet the criteria for entering the study, including consent to participate in the study, minimum literacy, loss of a loved one due to coronary heart disease in the last 6 months , Death Anxiety Inventory (DAS) (Templer, 1970), Meaning of Life (MLQ) (Steger, 2010), Spiritual Health (SWBS) (Pultzin and Ellison, 1982) and Depression Syndrome (DS) (Kisan et al., 2004) They completed the questionnaires via the Internet (WhatsApp and Telegram Virtual Networks). Also, after justifying the participants in the research regarding the steps of conducting the research, in order to maintain the anonymity of the participants, a code was assigned to each participant. Also, asking and obtaining personal information that was outside the research process was refused. Finally, in order to analyze the data, SPSS statistical software, version 25 and Pearson correlation and multiple regression statistical methods were used simultaneously.

3.Results

The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between spiritual health and meaning of life. And the relationship between spiritual health with death anxiety is inverse and with demoralization syndrome is positive. Finally, the relationship between demoralization syndrome and spiritual health is not significant (Table 1).
Regarding predicting the meaning of life based on death anxiety and demoralization symptoms, the results showed that the research variables simultaneously predict 36% of the variance in the meaning of life. Beta coefficients also showed that death anxiety and demoralization syndrome can significantly predict the meaning of life (Tables 2 and 3).
4.Discussion
The aim of this study was to predict the meaning of life based on death anxiety, spiritual health and mood syndrome in mourners of Covid-19. Many of the emotional and behavioral reactions of people to the coronavirus can be explained in the context of panic management theory, which states that many human behaviors are caused by death anxiety and its reminiscences. Death anxiety not only predicts Covid 19 anxiety, but also plays a causal role in mental health (30).
The results of this study also show that there is a positive relationship between spiritual health and the meaning of life. Explaining these findings, high levels of hope / optimism on the spirituality scale were also associated with coronavirus anxiety in the community of health care professionals (32). The philosophy of the meaning of life begins with the basic view that life has meaning in itself, and in other words, life has meaning even in the worst of circumstances. People with higher spiritual health evaluate life more optimistically and with a more positive outlook, and therefore can be expected to evaluate life more meaningfully. To suffer less damage when faced with stresses and traumatic situations (15).
The results also show that there is an inverse relationship between depressive symptoms and meaning of life. The correlation between mood swings and the meaning of life in reverse can be a solution in the specific context of the COVID-19 pandemic to use such theoretical models in psychotherapy and interventions to seek the help of the patient's mood infrastructure. Also, following the context of feelings and perceptions to which the patient attributes negatively in order to reconstruct and strengthen the meaning of life again to alleviate suffering (17).

Keywords: death anxiety, spiritual health, Demoralization Syndrome, Meaning in Life, COVID-19

     

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