Investigating the Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Existential Concerns Questionnaire (ECQ)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Psychology- Tarbiat Modares University- Tehran- Iran

2 Department of Psychology, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

3 Department, of Psychology- Tarbiat Modares University -Tehran-Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Existential anxiety is an expression of involvement with ultimate concerns such as death, meaninglessness, loneliness, guilt, freedom, responsibility and who we are. Considering the need for a suitable tool to measure existential concerns and the methodological flaws of existing tools in Iranian society, the purpose of this research is to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the existential concerns questionnaire.

Method: The current research is descriptive-evaluative. In this study, 215 adults aged 18-80 years of Iranian society were selected by available sampling method, and the Existential Concerns Questionnaire, Death Attitude Profile- Revised, NEO Five-Factor Inventory, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12, and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire They completed the online questionnaire. The validity of the instrument was examined through construct validity and concurrent validity. Cronbach's alpha and Macdonald's omega coefficients were calculated in the reliability evaluation using the internal consistency method. The statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27, and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using the lavaan package in R (version 4.3.2).

Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supports the unifactorial nature of the scale. The significance of the factor loadings, and the Fornell and Larcker scale showed satisfactory convergent validity for the instrument. The positive and significant correlation of existential concerns with fear of death, neuroticism, intolerance of uncertainty and the search for meaning and the negative and significant correlation between existential concerns and the presence of meaning confirmed the concurrent validity of this instrument. The values for both Cronbach's alpha and Macdonald's omega coefficients were reported as 0.77.

Discussion and conclusion: The results indicate that the Persian version of the Existential Concerns Questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for measuring existential anxieties.

Keywords

Clinical Psychology and Personality

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 May 2025

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