Preliminary Validation of Templer's Death Anxiety Scale in an Argentinean Sample

Abstract

Templer's Death Anxiety Scale is one of the most widely used instruments for evaluating death-related anxiety. However, this scale has never been adapted in South America. Thus, the present study examined the psychometric properties of this scale in an Argentinean sample. An intentional sample was constituted, comprising 859 emerging adults from Buenos Aires, Argentina (30% male, aged 18 to 30 years). All participants completed Templer's Death Anxiety Scale, the Anxiety and Depression Scales of Lovibond and Lovibond's DASS-21 Scale, Meyer et al.'s Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were carried out, resulting in a two-factor structure that proved to be more appropriate than the scale's one-factor structure. Also, internal consistency, composite reliability, and test/retest consistency were found to be satisfactory. Regarding concurrent validity, correlations were observed between the scale and measures of anxiety, depression, and worry—small and medium sized rs ranging from 0.28 to 0.48—. These results suggest that this preliminary version of the scale showed evidence of validity and reliability in Argentina. In the discussion, the implications of these findings are analysed and suggestions for future research are made; for instance, studying the scale's properties in other South American countries and evaluating its concurrent validity with other measures of death anxiety.