The hierarchical structure of fear of personal death: from the general factor to specific forms

PURPOSE: In the present study, we aimed to integrate unidimensional and multidimensional perspectives of the construct of the fear of personal death (FOPD). It has been assumed that (a) there is one general factor of FOPD, reflecting the unidimensional perspective and that (b) FOPD assumes a hierarchical structure reflecting the multidimensional perspective. METHODS: We administered the Death and Dying Anxiety Inventory (FVTS, Ochsmann, 1993) to 1217 Polish participants (602 women and 615 men) aged between 18 and 89 (M(Age) = 31.13; SD(Age) = 12.65). RESULTS: The results of the bi-factor model of the confirmatory factor analysis proved the existence of a FOPD general factor. Using the bass-ackwards approach, we provided evidence on the hierarchical structure of FOPD, which stresses that specific types of FOPD distinguished in the FVTS, which, on a higher level, make up the factors of threats to self-fulfilling existence, threats to well-being and threats of physical destruction, which in turn depend on the subject’s perspective: the physical self and/or the symbolic self. CONCLUSION: The current study demonstrates that unidimensional and multidimensional approaches to FOPD do not necessarily exclude one another. The unidimensional approach to FOPD seems to be most appropriate for studying the intensity of FOPD, while the multidimensional approach seems to be more suitable for studying the individual differences in how people give meaning to FOPD.