Effects of mortality awareness on attitudes toward dying and death and meaning in life—a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

A randomized controlled trial was carried out to investigate effects of heightened mortality awareness on meaning in life and attitudes toward dying and death. An intervention group (n ¼ 51) completed questionnaires and participated in interventions to increase mortality awareness; a control group (n ¼ 47) only completed the questionnaires. Longitudinal analyses revealed a decrease in the intervention group's fear of dying and an increase in their acceptance of dying, but no effects on attitudes toward death. Changes in meaningfulness were contingent on participants' religiousness. Unexpected cross-sectional results and the study's implications for theory and further empirical work are discussed.

The Psychosocial Developmental Phases of Death (Mortality) Awareness: What Educational Therapists should know when working with Terminally Ill Clients

“…Several studies (e.g., Denckla et al, 2020;Spitzenstätter & Schnell, 2020;Tang et al, 2021) have shown that when a person acknowledges and embraces death awareness, it builds up one's psychological resilience and also enhances one's well-being when in face of mortality or death. That is to say when we confront our mortality, we are also cultivating a better appreciation of life despite its transient existence, prioritizing what truly matters most to us, and living more simply and authentically.…”

“…An example is someone who acknowledges his/her mortality may find comfort in the idea of creating a meaningful legacy, whether through positive contributions to others, artistic expression, or leaving a lasting impact on the community. With the acknowledgement of the transient nature of life, one comes to terms a sense of purpose in life and that helps to reduce the mental burden of existential distress (Spitzenstätter & Schnell, 2020).…”

Exposure to authoritarian values leads to lower positive affect, higher negative affect, and higher meaning in life

“…Supplemental analyses of Study 2 showed that belongingness partially mediated the effect of condition on meaning in life (See the Supplement pp. [25][26]. Authoritarian messages might enhance in-group favoritism and/or out-group hostility, and through these, subsequently affect perceptions of life's meaningfulness.…”

“…Typically measured with questionnaires, including items like, “I understand my life’s meaning,” and “My life has a clear sense of purpose” [ 22 ], self-reported meaning in life is associated, prospectively, with positive life outcomes across a variety of domains, including lower suicide risk, greater lifetime earnings, better survival rates after health crises, and reduced mortality [ 23 ]. Although meaning in life is relatively stable, it is a subjective feeling that can be affected by manipulations, including exposure to stimuli that make sense [ 24 ], reminders of the reality of death [ 25 , 26 ], social exclusion and ostracism [ 27 ] and mental simulation [ 28 ]. Thus, meaning in life can fluctuate in response to changing circumstances [ 29 ].…”

A spectrum of (Dis)Belief: Coronavirus frames in a rural midwestern town in the United States

“…Based on research among Afghani families, Eggerman and Panter-Brick (2010) contend that cultural values foster considerable psychosocial strain as people rectify individual versus collective decisions. Moreover, what causes fear versus acceptance in illness and death cannot be dissociated from how people perceive and communicate affliction ( Spitzenstätter and Schnell, 2020 ). This is in contrast to how Foucault (1990) perceived the use of medical knowledge to regulate behavior and reshape the self to adapt to a new biological reality.…”