Abstract:
COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has proved to be such a calamitous event with an
unparalleled magnitude of life loss in decades. The circumstances of physical threat and
uncertainty have adversely affected the psychological wellbeing of the public in
general. The present study aimed to examine the levels of fear of death and
psychological distress as indicated by depression, anxiety, and stress levels in the
general population of Pakistan, and the role of social support in alleviating
psychological distress as well as fear of death. 250 participants (age 18-30) were
recruited using snowball sampling during a time span of 5 months, and the data was
collected online. Instruments used for data collection included socio-demographic
questionnaire, multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS),
depression-anxiety-stress scales (DASS-21), and indigenous death anxiety scale
(IDAS). Results showed that fear of death was positively associated with depression,
anxiety, and stress; but it had no significant association with perceived social support.
However perceived social support was negatively associated with depression, anxiety,
and stress. Age significantly predicted depression and anxiety, while gender
significantly predicted depression only. Perceived social support from friends was
found to moderate the relationship of punishment after death (subscale of fear of death)
with anxiety and stress. The implications of the findings are discussed.
