01595nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001260007600042653001800118653002100136653002400157653001400181100002500195700002700220700002800247700002000275700002400295245007200319300001200391490000700403520091500410022001401325020001401339       2010                            d  c06/2010bSociedad Española para el Estudio de la Ansiedad y el Estrés10adeath anxiety10aNursing students10apersonal competence10asuffering1 aJoaquín T. Limonero1 aJoaquin Tomás-Sábado1 aJordi Fernández-Castro1 aRamon Cladellas1 aJuana Gómez-Benito00aPerceived personal competence and death anxiety in nursing students  a177-1880 v163 aThe objective of this study was to analyze the role of perceived personal competence on death anxiety in 146 undergraduate nursing students with an average age of 21.8 years (SD = 5.6). Students filled out the Perceived Personal Competence scale (Wallston, 1992) and the Death Anxiety Inventory (Tomás-Sabádo & Gómez-Benito, 2005). The main results show significant differences in death anxiety in relation to age, sex and levels of perceived competence: women and younger students have higher levels of death anxiety and students higher in perceived personal competence report lower levels of death anxiety. It is stressed the importance of building personal competence by means of specific training on death, palliative care and specific nursing practices; in order to reduce the negative impact that death anxiety can have on the future practice of nurses who have to deal with pain, suffering and death.  a1134-7937  a2174-0437