Exploring death anxiety among elderly people: A literature review and empirical investigation

Omega: Journal of Death and Dying

Volumn 64, Issue 4, 2011, Pages 357-379

  Missler, Marjolein ^a   Stroebe, Margaret ^a   Geurtsen, Lilian ^b   Mastenbroek, Mirjam ^c   Chmoun, Sara ^b   Van Der Houwen, Karolijne ^d  

^a UTRECHT UNIVERSITY   (Netherlands)

^b Aafje Psychogeriatric and Somatic Nursing Home ^*  (Netherlands)

^c TILBURG UNIVERSITY   (Netherlands)

^d STATISTICS NETHERLANDS   (Netherlands)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AGED; ANXIETY; ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY; ATTITUDE TO DEATH; ATTITUDE TO HEALTH; CAREGIVER; DEPRESSION; EMPIRICAL RESEARCH; FEAR; FEMALE; HUMAN; HUMAN RELATION; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; QUESTIONNAIRE; REVIEW; SELF CONCEPT; SEX DIFFERENCE;

AGED; AGED, 80 AND OVER; ANXIETY; ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES; ATTITUDE TO DEATH; ATTITUDE TO HEALTH; CAREGIVERS; DEPRESSION; EMPIRICAL RESEARCH; FEAR; FEMALE; HUMANS; INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; QUESTIONNAIRES; SELF CONCEPT; SEX FACTORS;

EID: 84857848596     PISSN: 00302228     EISSN: 15413764     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2190/OM.64.4.e     Document Type: Review

References (40)

1. Abdel-Khalek, A. (1998). Death, anxiety, and depression in Lebanese undergraduates. Omega, 37, 289-302. (Pubitemid 128754205)
2. Aday, R. H. (2006). Aging prisoners' concerns toward dying in prison. Omega, 52, 199-216.
3. Azaiza, F., Ron, P., Shoman, M., & Gigini, I. (2010). Death and dying anxiety among elderly Arab Muslims in Israel. Death Studies, 34, 351-364.
4. Benton, J. P., Christopher, A. N., & Walter, M. I. (2007). Death anxiety as a function of aging anxiety. Death Studies, 31, 337-350.
5. Besser, A., & Priel, B. (2007). Attachment, depression, and fear of death in older adults: The roles of neediness and perceived availability of social support. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 1711-1725.
6. Carr, D., Nesse, R., & Wortman, C. (Eds.). (2006). Spousal bereavement in late life. New York: Springer.
7. Cicirelli, V. G. (2001). Personal meanings of death in older adults and young adults in relation to their fears of death. Death Studies, 25, 663-683. (Pubitemid 33089776)
8. Cicirelli, V. G. (2002). Fear of death in older adults: Predictions from terror management theory. Journal of Gerontology, 57, 358-366.
9. Cicirelli, V. G. (2006). Fear of death in mid-old age. Journal of Gerontology, 61, 75-81.
10. Crumbaugh, J. C., & Maholik, L. T. (1964). Cross-validation of the purpose-in-life test based on Frankl's concepts. Journal of Individual Psychology, 24, 74-81.
11. Crumbaugh, J. C., & Maholik, L. T. (1969). Manual instruction for the Purpose-in- Life-Test. Münster: Psychometric Affiliates.
12. Depaola, S. J., Griffin, M., Young, J. R., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2003). Death anxiety and attitudes toward the elderly among older adults: The role of gender and ethnicity. Death Studies, 27, 335-354. (Pubitemid 36626775)
13. Florian, V., & Kravetz, S. (1983). Fear of personal death: Attribution, structure, and relation to religious belief. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 600-607.
14. Florian, V., & Mikulincer, M. (1997). Fear of personal death in adulthood: The impact of early and recent losses. Death Studies, 21, 1-24. (Pubitemid 27056150)
15. Fortner, B. V., & Neimeyer, R. A. (1999). Death anxiety in older adults: A quantitative review. Death Studies, 23, 387-411. (Pubitemid 29284163)
16. Fry, P. S. (2003). Perceived self-efficacy domains as predictors of fear of the unknown and fear of dying among older adults. Psychology and Aging, 18, 474-486. (Pubitemid 37152065)
17. Hansson, R. O., & Stroebe, M. S. (2007). Bereavement in late life: Coping, adaptation, and development influences. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
18. Hoelter, J. W. (1979). Multidimensional treatment of fear of death. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 996-999. (Pubitemid 10245139)
19. Lester, D., Templer, D. I., & Abdel-Khalek, A. (2007). A cross-cultural comparison of death anxiety: A brief note. Omega, 54, 255-260.
20. Loo, R., & Shea, L. (1996). Structure of the Collett-Lester fear of death and dying scale. Death Studies, 20, 577-586. (Pubitemid 27020606)
21. Moreno, R. P., De La Fuente Solana, E. I., Rico, M. A., & Fernández, L. M. L. (2008). Death anxiety in institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly people in Spain. Omega, 58, 61-67.
22. Neimeyer, R. A., & Moore, M. K. (1994). Validity and reliability of the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale. In R. Neimeyer (Ed.), Death anxiety handbook: Research, instrumentation, and application (pp. 3-28). Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
23. Neimeyer, R. A., Wittkowski, J., & Moser, R. P. (2004). Psychological research on death attitudes: An overview and evaluation. Death Studies, 28, 309-340. (Pubitemid 38581352)
24. Pieterse, S., & de Vos, N. (2005). Senioren Signalen 2004. Retrieved April 2, 2009 from http://www.amersfoort.nl/docs/internet/2005/54375.pdf
25. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
26. Russac, R. J., Gatliff, C., Reece, M., & Spottswood, D. (2007). Death anxiety across the adult years: An examination of age and gender effects. Death Studies, 31, 549-561.
27. Shaw, B., Liang, J., & Krause, N. (2010). Age and race differences in trajectories of self-esteem. Psychology and Aging, 25, 84-94.
28. SPSS 15.0 Command Syntax Reference 2006, SPSS Inc., Chicago IL.
29. Statistics Netherlands. (2009). Kerkelijke gezindte en kerkbezoek; vanaf 1849; 18 jaar of ouder. Retrieved April 11th from Statistics Netherlands' Statline Database (www.cbs.nl).
30. Statistics Netherlands. (2011). Kerncijfers van diverse bevolkingsprognoses en waarneming. Retrieved April 11th from Statistics Netherlands' Statline Database (www.cbs.nl)
31. Suhail, K., & Akram, S. (2002). Correlates of death anxiety in Pakistan. Death Studies, 26, 39-50. (Pubitemid 34044987)
32. Templer, D. I. (1970). The construction of a death anxiety scale. Journal of General Psychology, 82, 165-177.
33. Tomer, A. (1994). Death anxiety in adult life: Theoretical perspectives. In R. Neimeyer (Ed.), Death anxiety handbook: Research, instrumentation, and application (pp. 3-28). Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
34. U.S. Census Bureau. (2008). Self-described religious identification of adult population. Retrieved September 23, 2010 from http://www.census.gov/ compendia/statab/2011/ tables/11s0075.pdf
35. U.S. Census Bureau (2009). Persons 65 years old and over-characteristics by sex. Retrieved April 2, 2009 from http://www.census.gov/co/statab/cats/ population.html
36. van Sonderen, E. (1993). Het meten van sociale steun met de Sociale Steun Lijst- Interacties (SSL-I) en Sociale Steun Lijst Discrepanties (SSL-D), een handleiding. Groningen: Noordelijk Centrum voor Gezondheidvraagstukken.
37. Verbrugge, L. M. (1989). The twain meet: Empirical explanations of sex differences in health and mortality. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30, 282-304. (Pubitemid 19238456)
38. Wagner, K. D., & Lorion, R. P. (1984). Correlates of death anxiety in elderly persons. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 40, 1235-1241. (Pubitemid 14002225)
39. Ware, J. E. (2003). Psychometric considerations. SF-36® Health Survey Update. Retrieved April 2, 2009 from http://www.sf-36.org/tools/sf36.shtml
40. Wu, A. M. S., Tang, C. S. K., & Kwok, T. C. Y. (2002). Death anxiety among Chinese elderly people in Hong Kong. Journal of Aging and Health, 14, 42-56. (Pubitemid 34037812)