Transcending death during early adulthood: symbolic immortality, death anxiety, and purpose in life

Robert Jay Lifton has originated a comprehensive theory of development based on the human psychobiological need to symbolize death and life continuity. He calls this condition the sense of symbolic immortality and argues that life is threatened whenever death is not transcended. A Sense of Symbolic Immortality Scale was built and administered to two groups of young adults (N = 136) in order to test the hypothesis that symbolic immortality develops with age (Drolet, 1986). Templer's Death Anxiety Scale and Crumbaugh and Maholick's Purpose in Life Test also were administered. Results show that established adults have a sense of symbolic immortality and a purpose in life significantly stronger than those of young adults. They show a negative relation between death anxiety and purpose in life, while purpose in life correlates highly with the sense of symbolic immortality. Finally, the premise that the sense of symbolic immortality helps cope with the fear of death is supported.