Death anxiety in older adults: A quantitative review
Abstract
This literature review quantitatively summarized 49 published and unpublished research studies concerning the relationship between death anxiety and age, ego integrity, gender, institutionalization, physical and psychological problems, and religiosity in older adults. Results indicated that lower ego integrity, more physical problems, and more psychological problems are predictive of higher levels of death anxiety in elderly people. A suggestive but equivocal relationship was found for the predictor institutionalization. Furthermore, the review statistically demonstrated the importance of using sound methods for measuring death anxiety and sampling from the elderly population. It has been said that we may learn looking backward - we live looking forward. A person's thinking and behavior may be influenced more than we recognize by his views, hopes and fears concerning the nature and meaning of death. (Feifel,1959,p.116)
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Higher religious beliefs and practices are not necessarily associated with lower death anxiety.
“higher religious beliefs and practices are not necessarily associated with lower death anxiety”
From Death anxiety and its role in psychopathology: Reviewing the status of a transdiagnostic construct (2014) · cites this paper as Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999
Higher education and socioeconomic status are moderately associated with lower death anxiety.
“higher education and socioeconomic status are moderately associated with lower death anxiety”
From Death anxiety and its role in psychopathology: Reviewing the status of a transdiagnostic construct (2014) · cites this paper as Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999
Good physical health is associated with lower death anxiety.
“good physical health is associated with lower death anxiety”
From Death anxiety and its role in psychopathology: Reviewing the status of a transdiagnostic construct (2014) · cites this paper as Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999
More psychological problems are associated with higher levels of death anxiety.
“more psychological problems are associated with higher levels of death anxiety”
From Death anxiety and its role in psychopathology: Reviewing the status of a transdiagnostic construct (2014) · cites this paper as Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999
Females typically report higher death anxiety than males.
“females typically report higher death anxiety than males”
From Death anxiety and its role in psychopathology: Reviewing the status of a transdiagnostic construct (2014) · cites this paper as Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999
Older people do not typically report higher death anxiety than younger people.
“older people do not typically report higher death anxiety than younger people”
From Death anxiety and its role in psychopathology: Reviewing the status of a transdiagnostic construct (2014) · cites this paper as Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999
Death anxiety is related to low self-esteem.
“Other studies have indicated that death anxiety is related to low self-esteem [2, 29].”
From Relationship between meaning in life and death anxiety in the elderly: self-esteem as a mediator (2019) · cites this paper as [2]
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Death anxiety and its role in psychopathology: Reviewing the status of a transdiagnostic construct
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“…and Neimeyer 1999; Harding et al. 2005). leveraging the DAS consistently reveals that individuals with profound religious spiritual convictions often exhibit significantly lower levels of death anxiety compared to those without such frameworks (Fortner and Neimeyer 1999; Harding et al. 2005).”
Background
- Authors
- V. Fortner, R. A. N.
- Venue
- Death Studies
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1999-06
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 387-411
- ISSN
- 0748-1187 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-7683
- OpenAlex
- W2110790515
- Cited by
- 387
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 3.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Death Studies (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- fear of death, older adults, ego integrity, age, gender differences, institutionalization, physical health problems, mental illness, religiosity
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anxiety, Attitude to Death, Ego, Female, Health Status, Humans, Institutionalization, Male, Middle Aged, Regression Analysis, Religion, Sex Factors
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