The Romanian adaptation of the death anxiety beliefs and behaviors scale.

Abstract

Despite growing interest in death anxiety as a transdiagnostic factor, no validated death anxiety measures exist in Romanian. This study aimed to adapt and validate the Death Anxiety Beliefs and Behaviors Scale (DABBS) in Romanian. A total of 482 participants completed the online assessment consisting of the adapted DABBS, as well as measures of depression, anxiety, neuroticism, and self-esteem. The same measures were applied at retest, three weeks later. Confirmatory Factor Analysis did not confirm the original three-factor model. Exploratory Factor Analysis identified a new five-factor structure: "Affect," "Death Beliefs about Self," "Death Beliefs about Others," "Behavioral Avoidance," and "Experiential Avoidance." The Romanian DABBS demonstrated good construct validity, excellent internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. Although the Romanian version differs factorially, findings support it as a reliable measure of death anxiety in Romanian populations.