Skip to main content
Intended for healthcare professionals
Restricted access
Research article
First published October 2001

Construct Validity of the Revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death and Dying Scale

Abstract

The construct validity of the Revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death and Dying Scale was examined in three separate studies. Study 1 (N=106) found substantial relationships between the Collett-Lester subscales and the subscales of the Multidimensional Fear of Death and Dying Scale. High test-retest reliabilities of the subscales over a six-week period were also observed. Study 2 (N=268) examined the sensitivity of the subscales to an intervention designed to change attitudes to death and dying. Statistically significant changes in three of the four subscales were found over a 14-week period. Study 3 examined the factor structure of the scale using exploratory and confirmatory techniques. Two of the subscales could be recovered from analyses at the item level but there was little support for the four factor model that guided test construction.

Get full access to this article

View all access and purchase options for this article.

References

Bengtson V. L., Cuellar J., & Ragan P. (1997). Stratum contrasts and similarities in attitudes toward death. Journal of Gerontology, 32, 76–88.
Bentler P. M. (1995). EQS structural equations program manual. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software Inc.
Collett L., & Lester D. (1969). The fear of death and dying. Journal of Psychology, 72, 179–181.
Crowne D. P., & Marlowe D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24(4), 349–354.
Dickstein L. D. (1977–78). Attitudes toward death, anxiety, and social desirability. Omega, 8, 369–378.
Durlak J. A., & Kass R. A. (1981–82). Clarifying the measurement of death attitudes. Omega, 12, 129–141.
Eysenck H. J. (1958). A short questionnaire for the measurement of two dimensions of personality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 42(1), 14–17.
Feifel H. (1955). Attitudes of mentally ill persons toward death. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 122, 375–380.
Feifel H., & Branscomb A. B. (1973). Who's afraid of death? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 81, 282–288.
Hoelter J. W. (1979). Multidimensional treatment of fear of death. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 996–999.
Lester D. (1974). The Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale: A manual. Pomona, CA: Richard Stockton State College.
Lester D. (1990). The Collett-Lester fear of death scale: The original version and a revision. Death Studies, 14, 451–468.
Lester G., & Lester D. (1969–70). The fear of death, the fear of dying, and threshold differences for death words and neutral words. Omega, 1, 175–179.
Lester D., & Templer D. (1992–93). Death anxiety scales: A dialogue. Omega, 26(4), 239–253.
Livneh H. (1985). Brief note on the structure of the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale. Psychological Reports, 56, 136–138.
Loo R. (1984). Personality correlates of the fear of death. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 40, 120–122.
Loo R., & Shea L. (1996). Structure of the Collett-Lester Fear of Death and Dying Scale. Death Studies, 20(6), 577–586.
Maglio C. J., & Robinson S. E. (1993–94). The effects of death education on death anxiety: A meta-analysis. Omega, 29(4), 319–335.
Martin T. O. (1982–83). Death anxiety and social desirability among nurses. Omega, 13(1), 51–58.
Neimeyer R. A. (1994). Death anxiety handbook: Research, instrumentation and application. New York: Taylor and Francis.
Neimeyer R. A. (1997–98). Death anxiety research: The state of the art. Omega, 36(2), 97–120.
Rigdon M. A., & Epting F. R. (1985). Reduction in death threat as a basis for optimal functioning. Death Studies, 9(5–6), 427–448.

Cite article

Cite article

Cite article

OR

Download to reference manager

If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice

Share options

Share

Share this article

Share with email
EMAIL ARTICLE LINK

Share access to this article

Sharing links are not relevant where the article is open access and not available if you do not have a subscription.

For more information view the Sage Journals article sharing page.

Information, rights and permissions

Information

Published In

Article first published: October 2001
Issue published: October 2001

Rights and permissions

© 2001 SAGE Publications.
Request permissions for this article.

History

Published online: October 1, 2001
Issue published: October 2001

Authors

Affiliations

Deborah C. Mooney
Griffith University, Australia
J. G. O'Gorman
Griffith University, Australia

Notes

Direct reprint requests to: Deborah C. Mooney, School of Nursing, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Parklands Drive, Southport Australia 9726

Metrics and citations

Metrics

Journals metrics

This article was published in OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying.

VIEW ALL JOURNAL METRICS

Article usage*

Total views and downloads: 265

*Article usage tracking started in December 2016

Articles citing this one

Web of Science: 25 view articles Opens in new tab

Crossref: 26

  1. Introduction of the French version of the Multidimensional Orientation...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  2. Exploring fear of death and psychosis proneness: positive schizotypy a...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  3. Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (CLFDS)
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  4. Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (CLFDS)
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  5. A systematic review of the psychometric properties of death anxiety se...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  6. Evidence of an Indirect Effect of Generativity on Fear of Death Throug...
    Go to citation Crossref Google ScholarPub Med
  7. Validation of the Revised Collett–Lester Fear of Death Scale in a Fren...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  8. Social Anxiety Disorder and the Fear of Death: An Empirical Investigat...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  9. Death anxiety and religious belief: a critical review
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  10. Measuring attitudes towards the dying process: A systematic review of ...
    Go to citation Crossref Google ScholarPub Med
  11. A Multifactorial Approach to Predicting Death Anxiety: Assessing the R...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  12. Construct Validity of the Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale: Facto...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  13. Exploring the effects of self-esteem and mortality salience on proxima...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  14. Finding the Terror that the Social Self Manages: Interdependent Self-C...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  15. Mortality salience increases death-anxiety for individuals low in pers...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  16. Failure Causes Fear: The Effect of Self-Esteem Threat on Death-Anxiety
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  17. When death thoughts lead to death fears: Mortality salience increases ...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  18. Fighting the future with the past: Nostalgia buffers existential threa...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  19. Separation from Loved Ones in the Fear of Death
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  20. Acute Traumatic Stress in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Parents: Relati...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  21. The Reliability and Validity of Revised Collett—Lester Fear of Death S...
    Go to citation Crossref Google ScholarPub Med
  22. Implications of Terrorist Attacks and other Campus Deaths for On-Going...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  23. Spanish Adaptation of the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  24. Tactical reframing to reduce death anxiety in undergraduate nursing st...
    Go to citation Crossref Google ScholarPub Med
  25. THE FACTORIAL STRUCTURE OF THE ARABIC VERSION OF THE REVISED COLLETT–L...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  26. THE COLLETT-LESTER FEAR OF DEATH SCALE: A CORRECTION
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar

Figures and tables

Figures & Media

Tables

View Options

Get access

Access options

If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:

ADEC members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.

ADEC members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.


Alternatively, view purchase options below:

Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.

Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.

View options

PDF/ePub

View PDF/ePub