Happiness and death distress: two separate factors.

The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between happiness and death distress (death anxiety, death depression, and death obsession) in 275 volunteer Kuwaiti undergraduates. They responded to the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Death Anxiety Scale, the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety, the Death Depression Scale-Revised, and the Death Obsession Scale. Gender differences were significant on all 5 scales, with women showing a lower mean score of happiness and a higher mean score for the death distress. All the correlations between happiness and the death distress scales were non-significant except one pertaining to happiness and death depression (negative) in women. Two oblique factors were extracted: death distress and happiness. Therefore, these constructs represent 2 distinct and independent factors.