Bugen's Coping with Death Scale: Reliability and Further Validation

Abstract

Bugen's Coping with Death Scale, originally found to reflect gains in a death and dying seminar, was found in the present study to be internally consistent and stable on retest. It was negatively associated with the Templer and Collett-Lester scales, providing some convergent validation. It was not associated with Social Desirability but was associated with general anxiety; thus, discriminant validity was mixed. Individuals who had written wills, planned estates, planned their funerals, and signed organ donor cards scored higher on the Coping with Death Scale. Organ donors also reported less anxiety on the Templer and all four Collett-Lester scales. Since Coping with Death scores were more consistently different in those who prepare for death, this scale may help in efforts to predict those who will engage in such behaviors.