Development and Validation of Apeiroanxiety Scale in the Context of the Afterlife for Pakistani Muslim Adults

Apeiroanxiety is a fear of infinity. Some people may experience anxiety or discomfort when contemplating the vastness or endless nature of certain concepts, such as time or space. Addressing any form of anxiety is important as it can impact an individual's daily functioning, wellbeing, and quality of life. The current study is aimed at developing a reliable and valid measure of apeiroanxiety in the context of the afterlife for the Pakistani Muslim population. The research had three studies: Query Study I generated an item pool of 18 items based on a literature review, semi-structured interviews, and expert opinion. This item pool was administered to a convenient sample of Pakistani Muslim participants (n = 1277). As a result of exploratory factor analysis, a uni-dimensional factor solution with five items was yielded (alpha = 0.90). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the obtained uni-dimensional factor solution in study II of the research with an excellent model fit. In study III, the convergent and discriminant validity of the scale was established on a separate independent sample (n = 485). Results yielded evidence of convergent validity as negative afterlife belief and rumination had a positive correlation with apeiroanxiety. The discriminant validity was established by a non-significant relationship between positive afterlife belief and apeiroanxiety. Moreover, the limitations, suggestions, and implications of the study are discussed.