The Elderly’s Self-Esteem and View of the Afterlife: Mediating Effects of Positive Satisfaction and the Level of Death Preparation

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and the view of the afterlife of the elderly by focusing on mediating effects of positive satisfaction and death preparation. Therefore, this study emphasizes the importance of the rest of life and contributes as exploratory research toward strengthening the psychological and emotional well-being of the elderly. After using a structural equation model, we found that self-esteem influenced their view of the afterlife through mediating effects such as positive satisfaction and the level of death preparation. The results of this study will present not only in recovering from death anxiety through an understanding of the level of death preparation and, the view of the afterlife but also in the development of practical intervention materials, which can be useful in social work for the elderly. The elderly's view of the afterlife should be strengthened according to the educational programs on death preparation that deal with the existence of the afterlife and life after death. However, this study has the limitation that only people living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and not in the other areas of the country were considered in this research. Nevertheless, within its limitation, this study's findings are promising, as they contribute to our understanding of the view of life and death of the elderly; further, the study has academic meaning with respect to helping the elderly successfully carry out their life development tasks and significantly prepare for the rest of their life.