Exploring the Relationship between Spiritual Intelligence, Life Expectancy, and Death Anxiety in Cancer Patients: Implications for Psychological Support

Introduction: Death anxiety is one of cancer patients' most common psychological problems. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between spiritual intelligence and life expectancy with death anxiety in cancer patients. Methods: This was a descriptive-analytic study. The study population comprised ۲۱۴ cancer patients in the chemotherapy department of Ali Ibn Abi Talib Hospital in Zahedan. King's spiritual intelligence questionnaire, Snyder's Hope Scalex, and Templer's death anxiety scale were used to collect data, which were completed through interviews with the patients. Data were analyzed using SPSS version ۱۶ using Pearson correlation and linear regression. Results: The study obtained mean scores for spiritual intelligence (۰.۳۵±۳.۷۶), life expectancy (۰.۳۵±۳.۶۵), and death anxiety (۲.۲۳±۰.۳۸). Significant and inverse correlations were found between spiritual intelligence and life expectancy with death anxiety (r=۰.۷۸۲, P=۰.۰۰۰۱) and (r=۰.۶۳۹, P=۰.۰۰۰۱), indicating that higher levels of spiritual intelligence and life expectancy were associated with lower levels of death anxiety in cancer patients. The regression analysis revealed that spiritual intelligence and life expectancy were strong predictors of death anxiety, accounting for ۶۱% and ۴۰.۵% of the variance, respectively. Conclusions: Spiritual intelligence and life expectancy are predictive of the level of death anxiety in cancer patients. Enhancing spiritual intelligence and life expectancy may be beneficial in preventing psychological disorders associated with cancer.

کلیدواژه ها:

Spiritual Intelligence ، Life Expectancy ، Death Anxiety ، Cancer