Self Assessment
How Concerned Are You About Death?
Contemplation of death evokes a variety of thoughts and feelings. To some degree, our philosophies about the place of death
in human existence and about what — if anything — follows
death affects our responses. The Death Concern Scale consists
of 30 statements that measure the anxiety or apprehension we
feel when we think about death. The key to the questionnaire is
given when the Scoring Key button is clicked.
Directions: The questionnaire contains two parts. Respond to
questions 1 through 11 by entering the code below:
1 Never
2 Rarely
3 Sometimes
4 Often
1. I think about my own death.
2. I think about the death of loved ones.
13. I am much more concerned about death than
those around me.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
14. Death hardly concerns me.
SA A D SD
1
2 3
4
15. My general outlook just doesn’t allow for morbid
thoughts.
SA A D SD
1
2 3
4
16. The prospect of my own death arouses anxiety in
me.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
3. I think about dying young.
4. I think about the possibility of my being killed on
a city street.
17.
The prospect of my own death depresses me.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
5. I have fantasies of my own death.
6. I think about death just before I go to sleep.
7. I think of how I would act if I knew I were to die
within a given period of time.
8. I think of how my relatives would act and feel
upon my death.
9. When I am sick I think about death.
10. When I am outside during a lightning storm I
think about the possibility of being struck by
lightning.
11. When I am in an automobile I think about the
high incidence of traffic fatalities.
Respond to questions 12 through 30 by using the code given below and then enter the corresponding number in the white
box:
SA I strongly agree
A I somewhat agree
D I somewhat disagree
SD I strongly disagree
12. I think people should first become concerned
about death when they are old.
SA A D SD
1
2 3
4
18. The prospect of the death of my loved ones
arouses anxiety in me.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
19. The knowledge that I will surely die does not in
any way affect the conduct of my life.
SA A D SD
1
2 3
4
20. I envision my own death as a painful, nightmarish
experience.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
21. I am afraid of dying.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
22. I am afraid of being dead.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
23. Many people become disturbed at the sight of a
new grave but it does not bother me.
SA A D SD
1
2 3
4
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24. I am disturbed when I think about the shortness
of life.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
28. The death of the individual is ultimately beneficial because it facilitates change in society.
SA A D SD
1
2 3
4
25. Thinking about death is a waste of time.
SA A D SD
1
2 3
4
29. I have a desire to live on after death.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
26. Death should not be regarded as a tragedy if it
occurs after a productive life.
SA A D SD
1
2 3
4
30. The question of whether or not there is a future
life worries me considerably.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
27. The inevitable death of a person poses a serious
challenge to the meaningfulness of human existence.
SA A D SD
4
3 2
1
SOURCE: Reprinted with permission from Louis S. Dickstein (1972), Death
concern: Measurement and correlates, Psychological Reports, 30, p. 565.
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Scoring Key
KEY TO THE DEATH CONCERN SCALE
Scores on the Death Concern Scale can vary from 30 to 120. Your total score and
range are indicated below.
Low Scorers (30 – 67): Low scorers admit to little if any concern about death. A
low score may reflect a personal philosophy in which death is viewed as meaningful and acceptable within the scheme of things. A low score can also suggest that
you are really reluctant to consider and accept the reality of death. A third possibility is that you tend not to think about things that do not immediately affect
you, and death, perhaps, may seem a long way off. Upon reflection, you should
have little difficulty deciding which possibility applies to you.
Average Scorers (68 – 80): Average scorers show some concern about death, but
they are not excessively anxious about it.
High Scorers (81 – 120): High scorers probably experienced a great deal of anxiety when they first saw the title of the questionnaire. They are likely to be highly
apprehensive about death and to show anxiety whenever the topic is raised. Perhaps they have had more than their share of illnesses or have become sensitized
by the deaths of loved ones. High scorers are sometimes generally anxious people
for whom apprehension about death is not an isolated concern. People who find
themselves preoccupied with death sometimes profit from discussing their concerns with counselors.
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