BELIEF IN AFTERLIFE SCALE

Abstract

The Belief in Afterlife (BA) Scale, developed by Osarchuk and Tatz (1973), is a psychological instrument designed to quantify the degree to which an individual accepts the idea that some form of existence continues following physical death. The scale is intentionally broad, avoiding specific religious or theological tenets, meaning items are formulated to be agreeable to adherents of diverse views, such as reincarnation or traditional Orthodox Christianity. The scale consists of two parallel forms, Form A and Form B, each comprising 10 statements. It utilizes a numerical Likert scale ranging from 0 (total disagreement) to 10 (total agreement). Scores are computed by summing responses after reversing scores for items that reject the concept of an afterlife; consequently, a higher total score indicates a stronger acceptance of life continuing after death.

Keywords

Belief in Afterlife, BA Scale, death attitudes, religion, existential psychology, fear of death, quantitative measurement, psychometric scale

Authors

Osarchuk, M., Tatz, S. J.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Belief in Afterlife (BA) Scale is to provide a standardized measurement of an individual’s general conviction regarding post-mortem existence. It was originally developed specifically to serve as a pretest and posttest measure in experimental research investigating the effects of psychological manipulations, such as inducing fear of death, on shifts in spiritual or existential beliefs. The scale is designed to quantify the intensity of this belief rather than assessing adherence to any particular religious or spiritual doctrine.

The scale’s non-denominational approach ensures its utility across various populations, allowing researchers to study the psychological function of afterlife belief—for instance, its role as a potential buffer against death anxiety or its correlation with coping mechanisms following bereavement.

Construct

The construct measured by the BA Scale is the generalized Belief in Afterlife (BA). This is defined as the subjective certainty that consciousness, spirit, or life itself persists in some capacity after the physical body ceases to function. Importantly, the BA construct is independent of specific religious frameworks.

The development process ensured that the scale items reflected a broad acceptance or rejection of continued existence, allowing the instrument to capture belief in concepts as varied as reincarnation or traditional heaven/hell narratives. The underlying theoretical assumption is that the strength of this general belief acts as a measurable psychological variable influencing reactions to mortality threats and life stressors.

Validity

Evidence for the validity of the BA Scale stems from its performance in experimental manipulations and its correlation with related psychological constructs. In their original research, Osarchuk and Tatz (1973) demonstrated criterion validity through experimental manipulation: subjects classified as high in BA showed a significant increase in their BA scores (an average increase of 9.5 points) specifically when exposed to a death threat condition (images and statistics related to their own age group’s chance of death), but not when exposed to a shock threat or control condition.

Furthermore, Osarchuk and Tatz found strong concurrent validity, noting that BA scale scores were significantly correlated with subjects’ self-estimates of their belief in an afterlife, measured on a 1-100 scale (r(309) = 0.428, p < 0.001). Berman and Hays (1973) also reported a significant positive relationship (r = 0.24, p < 0.01) between BA Scale Form A and the Lester (1967) fear of death scale among college students. Kurlychek (1976) found a specific relationship between BA scores and the Fear of Death of Others subscale (r = 0.44, p < 0.01) in older adults, suggesting that belief in an afterlife may be particularly linked to the fear associated with the concrete manifestation of death in others.

Reliability

Initial publications concerning the BA Scale did not report internal consistency statistics or other standard measures of reliability. Osarchuk and Tatz (1973) provided pretest descriptive statistics for Forms A and B, but no statistical comparison between the two forms was performed.

However, subsequent unpublished research has provided evidence of internal consistency. Casebolt (1992), utilizing Form A of the BA scale as a pretest with 60 introductory psychology subjects, reported a strong reliability estimate, finding a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.89. This finding suggests that Form A demonstrates acceptable to good internal consistency for research purposes.

Factor Analysis

The source material does not contain published information regarding formal factor analysis of the Belief in Afterlife Scale. Given that the scale was constructed by selecting items that best distinguished between high and low scorers on a larger pool of 50 items, it is presumed to function as a unidimensional measure of general afterlife belief, consistent with the original authors’ intent to create a singular index of this construct.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, psychological scale.

Format: Two parallel 10-item forms (Form A and Form B). Each item uses a Likert-type response format.

Language Available: English (Original development).

Population Group: Primarily used with college students and adults, though applicable to general populations.

Age Group: Adolescents (high reading level required) and Adults (not appropriate for children due to complex vocabulary).

Population Details: Standardization and normative data were primarily derived from introductory psychology students at C. W. Post Center (Long Island University). Subsequent research has included college-age subjects, older adults (60+), and subjects experiencing bereavement.

Test Methodology: Subjects respond to 10 statements on a scale typically ranging from 0 (total disagreement) to 10 (total agreement). Scoring involves reversing specific items (7 reverse-scored items in Form A; 6 in Form B) and summing all responses. Variations in the response scale have been noted in later research, such as the use of a 1-5 scale by Smith, Range, and Ulmer (1992).

Keywords

Afterlife belief, BA Scale Form A, BA Scale Form B, psychometrics, death threat, mortality salience, psychological measurement, scale scoring, Osarchuk and Tatz.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was initially published in 1973. Information regarding specific permissions or fees for academic use is not detailed in the source material. Researchers should consult the original publication or the publisher of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology for current usage rights.

Reference’s

• Osarchuk, M., & Tatz, S. J. (1973). Effect of induced fear of death on belief in afterlife. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27(2), 256-260.
• Berman, A. L., & Hays, J. E. (1973). Relation between death anxiety, belief in afterlife, and locus of control. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 41(2), 318.
• Casebolt, J. (1992). [The effect of terror management and the threatening or bolstering of afterlife beliefs on attributional derogation of AIDS victims.] Unpublished raw data.
• Kurlychek, R. T. (1976). Level of belief in after-life and four categories of fear of death in a sample of 60+-year-olds. Psychological Reports, 38, 228.
• Littlefield, C., & Fleming, S. (1984). Measuring fear of death: A multidimensional approach. Omega, 15(2), 131-138.
• Schoenrade, P. A. (1989). When I die… : Belief in afterlife as a response to mortality. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15(1), 91-100.
• Smith, P. G., Range, L. M., & Ulmer, A. (1992). Belief in afterlife as a buffer in suicidal and other bereavement. Omega, 24(3), 217-225.
• Collett, L. J., & Lester, D. (1969). The fear of death and the fear of dying. Journal of Psychology, 72, 179-181.
• Lester, D. (1967). Fear of death of suicidal persons. Psychological Reports, 20, 1077-1078.
• Spilka, B., Stout, L., Minton, B., & Sizemore, D. Death and personal faith: A psychometric investigation. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 16, 169-178.

Items of the BELIEF IN AFTERLIFE SCALE

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Form A

1. Earthly existence is the only existence we have.*
2. In the premature death of someone close, some comfort can be found in knowing that in some way the deceased is still existing.
3. Humans die in the sense of “ceasing to exist.”*
4. The idea of there existing somewhere some sort of afterlife is beyond my comprehension.*
5. We will never be united with those deceased whom we knew and loved.*
6. There must be an afterlife of some sort.
7. Some existentialists claim that when man dies he ceases to exist: I agree.*
8. The following statement is true: “There is no such thing as a life after death.”*
9. Millions of people believe in a life after death: they are correct in so believing.
10. Enjoy yourself on earth, for death signals the end of all existence.

Form B

1. A belief in an afterlife may be useful for some, but I don’t believe in it at all.*
2. The life we lead now is but a pebble cast upon the sands of our future lives.
3. Religiously associated or not, belief in an afterlife will never be shown to be true, for afterlives are nonexistent.*
4. The following statement is true: “Man must enter into some sort of existence after death, for the end of our earthly lives cannot wipe us from existence into nothingness.”
5. When a human dies, that something called “life” dies with him.*
6. The millions killed by Hitler passed from existence into nothingness.*
7. Many scientists believe in a life after death: they are right, there is one.
8. There is supportive evidence for the existence of an afterlife.
9. Death ends all forms of life forever.*
10. The existence of an afterlife can never be scientifically demonstrated, for it is impossible to prove a “figment of someone’s imagination.”*

* Indicates reverse-scored items