Fear of Death and Death Acceptance Among Bereaved Adults: Associations With Prolonged Grief
Abstract
This study aimed to analyze fear of death and neutral acceptance of death after a significant loss and their associations with prolonged grief. The sample of the study included 239 bereaved participants. Time since the loss ranged from 6 to 72 months. We found that neutral acceptance of death was associated with older age, a natural cause of death, and the ability to find meaning in the death of a close one. Fear of death was negatively associated with the frequency of practicing religion. We found that fear of death but not neutral acceptance was significantly associated with prolonged grief symptoms.
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Woo, J.-H., & Bae, S.-M. (2025) · OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying · doi:10.1177/00302228221115586 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
- Authors
- Gegieckaite, G., & Kazlauskas, E.
- Affiliations
- Center for Psychotraumatology, Institute of Psychology, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Vilnius University (LT)
- Venue
- OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-04-23
- Volume
- 84
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 884-898
- ISSN
- 0030-2228 (ISSN-L)
- 1541-3764
- OpenAlex
- W3018117478
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 0.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Keywords
- fear of death, death acceptance, prolonged grief disorder, bereavement, grief symptoms, natural death, age
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Bereavement, Fear, Grief, Humans, Phobic Disorders
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