Structural equation model of Coronavirus anxiety with death anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty in medical students

Ambiguous situations related to health such as the coronavirus pandemic produce various types of anxiety in people, which can be called death anxiety, after that, intolerance of uncertainty. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Coronavirus anxiety and death anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty in medical students. This was a descriptive-correlational study based on the structural equation method, which was designed and implemented in the academic year 2021-2022. The statistical population of this research included all medical students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Accordingly, 350 students (with the educational background of interns or interns and students who went to the ward and at the patient's bedside) were selected as available sampling. The participants responded to Qabadian-Qadikalai's Corona Anxiety Scale, Templer's Death Anxiety Scale, and Freeston et al. Uncertainty Intolerance Questionnaire. The data were analyzed through SPSS-26 and AMOS-25. Death anxiety and uncertainty intolerance have a direct and significant effect on coronavirus anxiety (P<0.001). In other words, GFI (0.892) and AGFI (0.882) and NFI (0.629) obtained indicated that the structural equation model between coronavirus anxiety and death anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty has a good fit. Based on the obtained results, it seems that medical students due to their lack of experience in their job, were very anxious in front of the spread of the coronavirus. Therefore, it is suggested that in future studies, researchers should conduct this study using these tools or similar variables on other samples such as nurses and experienced physicians.