Death Anxiety in Older Adults: A Quantitative Review

Fortner, Barry; Neimeyer, Robert A.

doi:10.1080/074811899200920

Cited by 276 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Further, these age differences continued to decline into older adulthood, which runs against some research showing that death anxiety levels off in older adulthood (Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999). The mechanisms for age-related declines in death anxiety and thoughts are still unclear.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…(p. 556). The observation that death thoughts and anxiety decline with age has been replicated several times in different populations and among varying age groups (Cicirelli, 2001;Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999;Kalish & Reynolds, 1977;Keller, Sherry, & Piotrowski, 1984). Several explanations for this decline have been put forth.…”

Section: Age Differences In Death-related Thoughts and Anxietymentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Other studies have shown few age-related differences in death anxiety, particularly in older adulthood (Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999). Yet other studies find increases in thoughts about death in older adulthood (Kalish & Reynolds, 1977).…”

Section: Study Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Death across the lifespan: Age differences in death-related thoughts and anxiety

Chopik

2016

Death Studies

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Many studies have found age-related declines in death-related anxiety. Why do death-related thoughts and anxiety decline across the lifespan when exposure to, and likelihood of, death increase over time? In Study 1, a cross-sectional survey of 2,363 adults, death-related thoughts declined across the lifespan. In Study 2, a longitudinal study of 9,815 adults followed over a 4-year period, death anxiety declined across the lifespan. Further, greater social support predicted lower levels of death anxiety over time, after controlling for self-rated health and chronic illnesses. Close relationships serve emotion regulation functions to decrease death anxiety and thoughts across the lifespan.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Age Differences In Death-related Thoughts and Anxietymentioning

confidence: 94%

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Death across the lifespan: Age differences in death-related thoughts and anxiety

Chopik

2016

Death Studies

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“…On a practical level, studying death anxiety in older adults may lead to more effective strategies for improving the quality of life for this rapidly growing segment of our population. For example, individual studies suggest living circumstances, psychological problems, and physical problems predict higher levels of death anxiety in elderly people (Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Undercover fear of elderly people in nursing homes: Death anxiety and depression

2017

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Aim: To find out the level of death anxiety and depression level among Turkish elderly people. Methods: This research was carried out on 106 elderly people aged 60 years and older from three different nursing homes. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, t-test, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and correlations were used for the analyses. Results: The 25.4% of elderly were between 65-69 years old, and included most of the elderly who were male (83%), single (92.5%) and retired (35.8%).The overall mean on depression was 14.43, and the death anxiety was 7.57. Mild depression was found in 69.8%, and no symptoms of depression were reported by 16% of the subjects. A positive correlation was found between total score of GDS and TDAS (r: 0.304, p<0.01). Conclusion: Healthcare professionals working with elderly people in nursing homes should be aware about death anxiety of the elderly.

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“…In general, this event generates a wide range of attitudes and emotions, chief among which are fear and/or anxiety (Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999;Neimeyer, 1994Neimeyer, , 2005Templer et al, 2006). To date, most studies in this area have focused on measuring anxiety and its relation to other factors, such as age or religion (Lester, Templer & Abdel-Khalek, 2007;Neimeyer, Currier, Coleman, Tomer & Samuel, 2011), applying methods focused mainly on quantitative analysis of the data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

La muerte ante uno mismo. Respuestas de jóvenes estudiantes ante el pensamiento de la propia muerte.

et al. 2017

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Título: La muerte ante uno mismo. Respuestas de jóvenes estudiantes ante el pensamiento de la propia muerte. Resumen: Las narraciones sobre lo que evoca pensar en la propia muerte y describir los pensamientos y sentimientos sobre el morir, pueden ser por sí mismas una fuente de conocimiento nuevo en el estudio de la ansiedad y las actitudes ante la muerte. Se llevó a cabo un estudio cualitativo descriptivo con el objetivo de explorar las características de los pensamientos, las emociones y sentimientos sobre la propia muerte de jóvenes, estudiantes de enfermería. 85 estudiantes respondieron voluntariamente un cuestionario autoadministrado de preguntas abiertas basadas en la Mortality Salience empleada en la Teoría de la Gestión del Terror. El análisis se realizó mediante la estrategia de análisis de contenido con el programa Atlas ti. Ante el pensamiento sobre la propia muerte respondieron con los sustantivos miedo, dolor, angustia, tristeza o soledad. El miedo a la propia muerte se concretó como la imposibilidad de lograr las metas en la vida, dejar a la familia y el proceso de muerte en sí mismo. Ante las creencias sobre estar físicamente muerto señalaron atributos de la descomposición del cuerpo, atributos espirituales, creencias, negación y preferencias. La visión cultural, los valores y creencias de cada persona, se encuentran muy presentes cuando piensan en su propia muerte. Palabras clave: Actitud ante la muerte; Teoría de la Gestión del Terror; Emoción; Enfermería; Estudio cualitativo. Abstract: Narratives produced by thinking and reflecting about death and dying may be themselves a source of new knowledge in the study of anxiety and attitudes toward death. A qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore the features of thoughts, emotions and feelings about young people's own death, (nursing students) was conducted. 85 students voluntarily answered a self-administered questionnaire with open questions based on Mortality Salience, used in the Terror Management Theory. Content analysis using Atlas.ti software was performed. When reflecting upon their own death, participants reported substantive emotions such as fear, pain, distress, sadness or loneliness. The fear of their own death was specified as the inability to achieve goals in life, to leave the family and the dying process itself. When reflecting upon been physically dead, attributes of the decomposition of the body, spiritual attributes, beliefs, denial and preferences were identified. Cultural worldview, values and beliefs of each person were remarkably present when thinking about their own death.

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Death Anxiety in Older Adults: A Quantitative Review

Cited by 276 publications

References 25 publications

Death across the lifespan: Age differences in death-related thoughts and anxiety

Death across the lifespan: Age differences in death-related thoughts and anxiety

Undercover fear of elderly people in nursing homes: Death anxiety and depression

La muerte ante uno mismo. Respuestas de jóvenes estudiantes ante el pensamiento de la propia muerte.

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