Death Anxiety Resilience; a Mixed Methods Investigation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Trauma Studies
• Mental Health Research

Background:

• Life-threatening events can trigger significant psychological distress.
• Death anxiety is a recognized factor impacting mental health outcomes post-trauma.
• Understanding these relationships is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of death anxiety on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mental health.
• To explore the lived experiences of individuals with PTSD following a life-threatening event.
• To identify coping mechanisms that foster resilience.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-methods design involving undergraduate university students (N=97).
• Phase 1: Self-report questionnaires on demographics, death anxiety, trauma, and well-being.
• Phase 2: Semi-structured interviews (N=6) for phenomenological exploration using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).

Main Results:

• A significant correlation was found between death anxiety and PTSD.
• No significant correlation was observed between death anxiety and psychiatric comorbidity.
• Three major themes emerged from interviews: self-efficacy, religious coping, and existential attitude.

Conclusions:

• Death anxiety is linked to PTSD development after trauma.
• Self-efficacy, religious coping, and existential attitude are key themes in navigating trauma.
• These coping strategies can enhance resilience and mitigate negative mental health effects of death anxiety.