Validation of the Korean version of the death anxiety beliefs and behaviours scale.

Death anxiety is a complex psychological construct that includes affective, cognitive, and behavioural reactions to the awareness of mortality. The Death Anxiety Beliefs and Behaviours Scale (DABBS) is designed to capture multiple dimensions of death anxiety. This study aimed to adapt the DABBS into Korean and evaluate its psychometric properties in Korean adults. A sample of Korean adults (N = 752) participated, and the data were analyzed to examine reliability, factor structure, and measurement invariance across gender and age groups. The theoretically proposed three-factor structure (affect, beliefs, and behaviours) was supported by factor analyses, providing strong evidence for the reliability and construct validity of the scale. Measurement invariance was supported across gender; however, configural invariance was not supported across age groups, indicating that the scale may not allow for direct comparisons of death anxiety across age groups. This finding may reflect developmental differences in how death anxiety is structured across the lifespan. Overall, the Korean version of the DABBS appears to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing multidimensional death anxiety in Korean adults, with potential applications in both research and clinical settings, although caution is warranted when comparing scores across age groups.