Fear of Personal Death Scale (FPDS) Test

People who want to examine their own responses to mortality can use this assessment as a structured starting point. The Fear of Personal Death Scale (FPDS) Test focuses on the meanings and consequences attached to death, rather than treating fear as one undifferentiated reaction. Framed as a personal death anxiety test, this assessment can show which concerns are most prominent and give self-reflection a clearer structure.

What This Assessment Explores

For readers reflecting on mortality, this fear of death questionnaire organizes five themes. Scores show concern by theme. The dimensions are:

• Consequences for the Self (1-7) measures fear of lost individuality, capacities, and integrity; Low concern 1-3.2, Moderate concern 3.3-6, High concern 6.1-7.
• Transcendent Consequences (1-7) measures fear of the unknown after death; Low 1-2.1, Moderate 2.2-5.5, High 5.6-7.
• Fear of Being Forgotten (1-7) measures fear of going unnoticed; Low 1-3.5, Moderate 3.6-7.
• Impact on Loved Ones (1-7) measures fear of loved ones’ grief and need; Low concern 1-3.6, Moderate concern 3.7-6.4, High concern 6.5-7.
• Consequences for the Body (1-7) measures anxiety about physical death and decomposition; Low concern 1-3.8, High concern 3.9-7.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each statement uses a seven-point agreement scale from strong disagreement to strong agreement, with a neutral midpoint. It captures intensity rather than a yes-or-no reaction across personal, existential, bodily, and relational consequences of death.

The result displays a separate score for each dimension and compares each with its shown band, showing where concerns concentrate rather than producing one overall label.

Its structure is conceptually consistent with the FPDS described by Florian and Kravetz (1983), which distinguishes intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal consequences of mortality; that relationship does not by itself validate this online questionnaire’s scoring or bands. The 1984 Florian, Kravetz, and Frankel study, together with Neimeyer, Moser, and Wittkowski (2003), provides further conceptual or psychometric context for fears of personal death, not validation of this online form.

This online death anxiety questionnaire is conceptually consistent with the published instrument, rather than established as a validated adaptation; its bands do not establish population norms or clinical cutoffs, and self-report results may vary with mood, beliefs, recent loss, and openness, so interpret the profile as context-dependent self-reflection rather than a complete assessment.