Measures (see Appendix 7.1)

Death Attitudes Profile – Revised (DAP-R; Wong et al., 1994). The DAP-R is a 32-item measure of five death attitudes: Approach Acceptance (10 items, e.g., “Death brings a promise of a new and glorious life”); Fear of Death (7 items, e.g., “The uncertainty of not knowing what happens after death worries me”); Death Avoidance (5 items, e.g., “I avoid thinking about death altogether”), Escape Acceptance (5 items, e.g., “I see death as a relief from the burden of life”); and Neutral Acceptance (5 items, e.g., “Death is simply a part of the process of life”). However, subsequent factor analytic work (Clements & Rooda, 1999-2000) has shown the Neutral Acceptance component to split into two separate components of Natural Acceptance (3 items, e.g., “Death is simply a part of the process of life”) and Neutral Acceptance (2 items, e.g., “Death is neither good nor bad”). We used this revised six factor structure for the analyses reported here. Participants indicated their agreement with the items using a seven-point scale (1 = Strongly disagree; 7 = Strongly agree), hence higher scores indicate a greater agreement

Need Satisfaction in Relationships (NSR; La Guardia et al., 2000). Three three- item subscales assess the satisfaction of psychological needs for autonomy (e.g., “I feel free to be who I am”), competence (e.g., “I feel like a competent person”), and relatedness (e.g., “I feel loved and cared about”) in relationships. Participants were instructed to think of their closest relationship, whether with a spouse or partner, relative, or friend, and respond using a 1 (“not at all true”) to 7 (“very true”) scale, according to the stem “When I am with…”. The subject of this close relationship was not given by the participants. Three items are reverse scored. Higher scores indicate greater satisfaction of that psychological need in the relationship.

For the mediation analyses reported below, we combined the three subscales to form a Need Satisfaction in Relationships total score. Principal components analysis of the three subscales revealed them all to load on a single component (eigenvalue = 2.06), which accounted for 69% of the variance. The component loadings ranged from .66 to .73.

Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; Steger et al., 2004). Two five-item subscales assess the search for meaning in life (e.g., “I am searching for meaning in my life”, and the presence of meaning in life (e.g., “I have a good sense of what makes my life meaningful”). Participants completed the original 14-item version

7 (“absolutely true”) scale. One item is reverse scored. Higher scores indicate greater search for meaning, and presence of meaning, respectively.

Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWB; Ryff, 1989; Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Six nine-item subscales assess each of autonomy (e.g., “I have confidence in my opinions, even if they are contrary to the general consensus”), environmental mastery (e.g., “I am quite good at managing the many responsibilities of my daily life”), personal growth (e.g., “I am not interested in activities that will expand my horizons”, reverse scored), positive relations with others (e.g., “I enjoy personal and mutual conversations with family members or friends”), purpose in life (e.g., “I enjoy making plans for the future and working to make them a reality”), and self-acceptance (e.g., “I like most aspects of my personality”). The total score can also be used as a composite measure of psychological well-being, a policy we adopted here. Participants responded to each item using a 1 “strongly disagree” to 6 “strongly agree” scale. Twenty-eight of the 54 items are reverse scored. Higher scores indicate greater psychological well-being. These scales are considered to provide the most comprehensive assessment of engagement with the existential challenges of life (Keyes et al., 2002).

Changes in Outlook Questionnaire (CiOQ; Joseph et al., 1993). A 26-item self- report measure of changes in outlook, scored using a six-point Likert format scale (1 = Strongly disagree; 6 = Strongly agree). The CiOQ has two sub-scales:

items; e.g., “I no longer feel able to cope with things”, “I have very little trust in myself now”), with a range of 15 – 90. This was keyed to the “most upsetting event that you have experienced within the last two years”. We opted to use the CiOQ in preference to the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for two reasons: first, because it assesses both positive and negative changes; and second, because it is considered to tap more existential elements of growth than does the PTGI (Linley et al., in press).

Participants also completed ten subscales assessing various aspects of need satisfaction (Sheldon, Elliot, Kim, & Kasser, 2001), and a 32-item measure of what they valued in life and the extent to which they had achieved these aspirations, but these are not reported here.

7.2.2 Results

All descriptive statistics for this sample, including internal consistency reliabilities (Cronbach’s alpha), are presented in Table 7.1. Although the internal consistency reliability (α = 0.48) for the Neutral Acceptance subscale of the DAP-R fell marginally below the value of 0.50 regarded as minimally acceptable for internal consistency reliability (Nunnally, 1978), we opted to retain this given the exploratory nature of the study, and because due to the scale being composed of only two items, expectations for internal consistency reliability can be relaxed.

Variable Mean SD Range Alpha __________________________________________________________________ Fear of Death 17.48 7.83 7-48 .83 Death Avoidance 12.04 6.68 5-34 .90 Approach Acceptance 62.53 8.16 26-70 .86 Escape Acceptance 26.31 6.42 6-35 .78 Natural Acceptance 18.87 2.59 6-21 .66 Neutral Acceptance 8.39 2.96 2-14 .48 Meaning in Life – Presence 30.15 4.42 10-35 .78 Meaning in Life – Search 15.59 8.19 5-35 .90 NSR – Autonomy 18.60 2.63 9-21 .58 NSR – Competence 17.62 3.04 9-21 .76 NSR – Relatedness 18.35 3.04 4-21 .68 CiOQ Positive Changes 48.84 7.39 23-64 .80 CiOQ Negative Changes 27.25 9.40 15-66 .85 Psychological Well-Being 250.23 28.08 169-316 .92 __________________________________________________________________ Note. NSR = Need Satisfaction in Relationships. CiOQ = Changes in Outlook Questionnaire.

Table 7.2. Correlations of Death Attitudes, Meaning in Life, and Need Satisfaction in Relationships with Positive Changes, Negative Changes, and Psychological Well-Being – Churchgoers

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Positive Negative Psychological

Changes Changes Well-Being __________________________________________________________________ Fear of Death -.23** .37*** -.28*** Death Avoidance -.10 .34*** -.35*** Approach Acceptance .17* -.26*** .22** Escape Acceptance .15^ -.01 -.12 Natural Acceptance .28*** .08 -.04 Neutral Acceptance .09 -.05 .02

Meaning in Life – Presence .21** -.49*** .41*** Meaning in Life – Search -.08 .43*** -.23**

NSR – Autonomy .08 -.23** .29***

NSR – Competence .01 -.18* .38***

NSR – Relatedness .03 -.20* .31***

__________________________________________________________________ Note: NSR = Need Satisfaction in Relationships. ***p<.001; **p<.01; *p<.05; ^p<.10.