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Death anxiety الخوف من الموت

Fear of dying and awareness of mortality.

Everything below was reached through this subject, not through the words you typed. Every row states how it was reached.

Qurʾān

القرآن6 shown

Verses named for this subject by hand come first. The rest are found by the subject’s own Arabic and English senses and are shown as lexical matches, not as anchors anyone has confirmed.

Qur'ān 21:35Arabic sense: الموت, موت | English sense: every soul, taste death

كُلُّ نَفۡسࣲ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلۡمَوۡتِۗ وَنَبۡلُوكُم بِٱلشَّرِّ وَٱلۡخَيۡرِ فِتۡنَةࣰۖ وَإِلَيۡنَا تُرۡجَعُونَ

Every soul is certain to taste death: We test you all through the bad and the good, and to Us you will all return

Qur'ān 29:57Arabic sense: الموت, موت | English sense: every soul, taste death

كُلُّ نَفۡسࣲ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلۡمَوۡتِۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيۡنَا تُرۡجَعُونَ

Every soul will taste death, then it is to Us that you will be returned

Qur'ān 3:185Arabic sense: الموت, موت | English sense: every soul, taste death

كُلُّ نَفۡسࣲ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلۡمَوۡتِۗ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوۡنَ أُجُورَكُمۡ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِۖ فَمَن زُحۡزِحَ عَنِ ٱلنَّارِ وَأُدۡخِلَ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ فَقَدۡ فَازَۗ وَمَا ٱلۡحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَآ إِلَّا مَتَٰعُ ٱلۡغُرُورِ

Every soul will taste death and you will be paid in full only on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is kept away from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have triumphed. The present world is only an illusory pleasure

Qur'ān 44:56Arabic sense: الموت, موت | English sense: taste death

لَا يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا ٱلۡمَوۡتَ إِلَّا ٱلۡمَوۡتَةَ ٱلۡأُولَىٰۖ وَوَقَىٰهُمۡ عَذَابَ ٱلۡجَحِيمِ

After the one death they will taste death no more. God will guard them from the torment of Hell

Qur'ān 2:19Arabic sense: الموت, موت

أَوۡ كَصَيِّبࣲ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فِيهِ ظُلُمَٰتࣱ وَرَعۡدࣱ وَبَرۡقࣱ يَجۡعَلُونَ أَصَٰبِعَهُمۡ فِيٓ ءَاذَانِهِم مِّنَ ٱلصَّوَٰعِقِ حَذَرَ ٱلۡمَوۡتِۚ وَٱللَّهُ مُحِيطُۢ بِٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ

Or [like people who, under] a cloudburst from the sky, with its darkness, thunder, and lightning, put their fingers into their ears to keep out the thunderclaps for fear of death- God surrounds the disbelievers

Qur'ān 2:73Arabic sense: الموت, موت

فَقُلۡنَا ٱضۡرِبُوهُ بِبَعۡضِهَاۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُحۡيِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ وَيُرِيكُمۡ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ

We said, ‘Strike the [body] with a part of [the cow]’: thus God brings the dead to life and shows His signs so that you may understand

Tafsīr

التفسير6 shown

Commentary on the verses above, at most two editions per verse.

en-asbab-al-nuzul-by-al-wahidi on 21:35en-asbab-al-nuzul-by-al-wahidicommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced

We have not assigned everlastingness to any mortal before thee. If thou diest, will they be everlasting? Every soul shall taste death. When a speck of truthfulness appears in someone's heart, the reality of passion for death will show its head from his spirit, for the promise of encounter is there. What sort of spirit would forget the promise of encounter? What sort of heart would seek from someplace else the repose that comes only from contemplating the Real? “The person of faith has no ease without encoun- tering his Lord.” O dervish, no good fortune is more precious than death. Those who have the religion place the crown of magnificence and generosity on their heads at the gate of death. Those who reap the fruit of the Shariah will find the sigil of good fortune at the door of death. Death is the sanctuary of “There is no god but God.” Death is the doorstep of the kingdom of the resur

en-al-jalalayn on 21:35en-al-jalalayncommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced

Every soul shall taste death in this world and We will try you We will test you with ill and good such as poverty and wealth sickness and health as an ordeal fitnatan an object denoting reason in other words for the purpose of seeing whether you will be patient and give thanks or not. And then unto Us you shall be brought back that We may requite you.

en-al-jalalayn on 29:57en-al-jalalayncommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced

Every soul shall taste death. Then to Us you shall be returned turja‘ūna; or yurja‘ūna ‘they shall be returned’ after resurrection.

en-al-jalalayn on 3:185en-al-jalalayncommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced

Every soul shall taste of death; you shall surely be paid in full your wages the requital of your deeds on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is moved away distanced from the Fire and admitted to Paradise will have triumphed he will have attained his ultimate wish. Living in the life of this world is but the comfort of delusion; of inanity enjoyed for a little while then perishing.

en-tafisr-ibn-kathir on 29:57en-tafisr-ibn-kathircommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced

O My servants who believe! Certainly, spacious is My earth. Therefore worship Me (56)Everyone shall taste death. Then unto Us you shall be returned (57)And those who believe and do righteous good deeds, to them We shall surely give lofty dwellings in Paradise, beneath which rivers flow, to live therein forever. Excellent is the reward for the workers (58)Those who are patient, and put their trust in their Lord (59)And so many a moving creature carries not its own provision! Allah provides for it and for you. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower (60) Advice to migrate and the Promise of Provision and a Goodly Reward Allah commands His believing servants to migrate from a land in which they are not able to establish Islam, to the spacious earth of Allah where they can do so, by declaring Allah to be One and worshipping Him as He has commanded. Allah says: يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَ

en-tafisr-ibn-kathir on 3:185en-tafisr-ibn-kathircommentary on an ayah this subject surfaced

Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is moved away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (185)You shall certainly be tried and tested in your wealth and properties and in yourselves, and you shall certainly hear much that will grieve you from those who received the Scripture before you (Jews and Christians) and from those who ascribe partners to Allah; but if you persevere patiently, and have Taqwa, then verily, that will be a determining factor in all affairs (186) Every Soul Shall Taste Death Allah issues a general and encompassing statement that every living soul shall taste death. In another statement, Allah said, كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ - وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ (Whatsoever is on it (t

Ḥadīth

الحديث6 shown

Sound narrations only, and never matched by text. A narration appears here because a compiler filed it under a chapter this subject maps to, or because someone read it and anchored it. Each row says which.

Sahih Muslim 916Prayer - Funeralsfiled here by the compiler

وَحَدَّثَنَاهُ قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ يَعْنِي الدَّرَاوَرْدِيَّ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدُ بْنُ مَخْلَدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ بِلاَلٍ، جَمِيعًا بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ ‏.‏

This hadith has been narrated by Sulaiman b. Bilal with the same chain of transmitters

Sahih Muslim 917Prayer - Funeralsfiled here by the compiler

وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ، وَعُثْمَانُ، ابْنَا أَبِي شَيْبَةَ ح وَحَدَّثَنِي عَمْرٌو النَّاقِدُ، قَالُوا جَمِيعًا حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو خَالِدٍ الأَحْمَرُ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ أَبِي حَازِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ لَقِّنُوا مَوْتَاكُمْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:Exhort to recite" There is no god but Allah" to those of you who are dying

Sunan Ibn Majah 1434Chapters Regarding Funeralsfiled here by the compiler

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بِشْرٍ، بَكْرُ بْنُ خَلَفٍ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْحَمِيدِ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ حَكِيمِ بْنِ أَفْلَحَ، عَنْ أَبِي مَسْعُودٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ ‏ "‏ لِلْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ أَرْبَعُ خِلاَلٍ يُشَمِّتُهُ إِذَا عَطَسَ وَيُجِيبُهُ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَشْهَدُهُ إِذَا مَاتَ وَيَعُودُهُ إِذَا مَرِضَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

It was narrated from Abu Mas’ud that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:“The Muslim has four things due from the Muslim: He should answer [by saying Yarhamuk-Allah (may Allah have mercy on you)] to him if he sneezes (and says Al-Hamdulillah); he should accept his invitation if he invites him; he should attend his funeral if he dies; and he should visit him if he falls sick.”

Sunan Ibn Majah 1435Chapters Regarding Funeralsfiled here by the compiler

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بِشْرٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ‏ "‏ خَمْسٌ مِنْ حَقِّ الْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ رَدُّ التَّحِيَّةِ وَإِجَابَةُ الدَّعْوَةِ وَشُهُودُ الْجِنَازَةِ وَعِيَادَةُ الْمَرِيضِ وَتَشْمِيتُ الْعَاطِسِ إِذَا حَمِدَ اللَّهَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:“Five are the rights of the Muslim: Returning his greeting, accepting his invitation; attending his funeral; visiting the sick; and answering (saying Yarhamuk-Allah) to the one who sneezes, if he praises Allah (says Al-Hamdu Lillah).”

Sunan Abi Dawud 3090Funeralsfiled here by the compiler

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ النُّفَيْلِيُّ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ الْمِصِّيصِيُّ، - الْمَعْنَى - قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْمَلِيحِ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ، - قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ السُّلَمِيُّ - عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، وَكَانَتْ، لَهُ صُحْبَةٌ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏"‏ إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا سَبَقَتْ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَنْزِلَةٌ لَمْ يَبْلُغْهَا بِعَمَلِهِ ابْتَلاَهُ اللَّهُ فِي جَسَدِهِ أَوْ فِي مَالِهِ أَوْ فِي وَلَدِهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ زَادَ ابْنُ نُفَيْلٍ ‏"‏ ثُمَّ صَبَّرَهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ اتَّفَقَا ‏"‏ حَتَّى يُبْلِغَهُ الْمَنْزِلَةَ الَّتِي سَبَقَتْ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Narrated Muhammad ibn Khalid as-Sulami: on his father's authority said his grandfather reported: He was a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: When Allah has previously decreed for a servant a rank which he has not attained by his action, He afflicts him in his body, or his property or his children. Abu Dawud said: Ibn Nufail added in his version: "He then enables him to endure that." The agreed version goes: "So that He may bring him to the rank previously decreed from him by Allah

Sunan Abi Dawud 3091Funeralsfiled here by the compiler

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عِيسَى، وَمُسَدَّدٌ، - الْمَعْنَى - قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا هُشَيْمٌ، عَنِ الْعَوَّامِ بْنِ حَوْشَبٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ السَّكْسَكِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم غَيْرَ مَرَّةٍ وَلاَ مَرَّتَيْنِ يَقُولُ ‏ "‏ إِذَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلاً صَالِحًا فَشَغَلَهُ عَنْهُ مَرَضٌ أَوْ سَفَرٌ كُتِبَ لَهُ كَصَالِحِ مَا كَانَ يَعْمَلُ وَهُوَ صَحِيحٌ مُقِيمٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Narrated Abu Musa:I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) many times say: When a servant of Allah is accustomed to do a good work, then becomes ill or goes on journey, what was accustomed to do when he was well and staying at home will be recorded for him

Classical works

كتب التراث6 shown

Arabic originals, reached through the subject’s Arabic senses. Interpretive sources, never proof of a ruling.

mukhtasar-minhaj §2640mukhtasar-minhajArabic sense: القبر, الموت, سكرات, قبر, موت

ومن أقسام الخائفين، من يخاف سكرات الموت وشدته، أو سؤال منكر ونكير، أو عذاب القبر.

ihya §14955ihyaArabic sense: القبر, الموت, سكرات, قبر

قد عرفت فيما سبق أحوال الميت فى سكرات الموت وخطره فى خوف العاقبة ثم مقاساته لظلمة القبر وديدانه ثم لمنكر ونكير وسؤالهما ثم لعذاب القبر وخطره إن كان مغضوبا عليه

ihya §14503ihyaArabic sense: القبر, الموت, قبر, موت

الباب السابع في حقيقة الموت وما يلقاه الميت في القبر إلى نفخة الصور

ihya §14899ihyaArabic sense: القبر, الموت, قبر, موت

| الباب السابع في حقيقة الموت وما يلقاه الميت في القبر إلى نفخة

ighathat §1030ighathatArabic sense: الموت, ذكر الموت, موت

وفي صحيح مسلم عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال : قال رسول الله زوروا القبور فإنها تذكر الموت

mukhtasar-minhaj §1805mukhtasar-minhajArabic sense: الموت, ذكر الموت, موت

فيعالج حب الشهوات بالقناعة والصبر، وطول الأمل بكثرة ذكر الموت.

Research library

المكتبة البحثية460 works held

Peer-reviewed work held with its DOI and abstract, labelled with the study design its publication types report. None of it has been read or assessed, so nothing here may be cited as showing anything. Retracted work is held for the record but never listed; a review that a later version replaced is listed under its replacement and marked.

10.1080/02791072.2015.1029654Journal of psychoactive drugs (2015)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by us; matched on Attitude to Death, death anxiety, Death, mortality salience, terror management

Smoke your troubles away: exploring the effects of death cognitions on cannabis craving and consumption.: Two studies informed by the terror management health model were conducted to examine the question of how death cognition affects cannabis craving and whether actual cannabis smoking alleviates death cognitions. The first study examined whether priming thoughts of death are associated with subjective cannabis craving among 42 frequent cannabis users randomly assigned to either a mortality salience or control task. When reminded of their death, participants craved cannabis, even though there was n

10.1177/0146167208331252Personality & social psychology bulletin (2009)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by us; matched on Attitude to Death, Existentialism, mortality salience, terror management

Things will get better: the anxiety-buffering qualities of progressive hope.: Terror management theory argues that people can cope with the psychological threat of their own death by bolstering faith in their cultural worldviews. Based on the notion that-since the Age of Enlightenment-belief or faith in progress has become one of the defining qualities of modern Western thinking, we expected that this belief serves as a buffer against mortality concerns. Three experiments were conducted to test the relationship between existential anxiety and belief in progress. Results o

10.1177/0269216317722123Palliative medicine (2018)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by us; matched on Attitude to Death, death anxiety, Terminal Care, Terminally Ill

Death anxiety interventions in patients with advanced cancer: A systematic review.: Background: Death anxiety is a common issue in adult patients with advanced cancer and can have a large impact on quality of life and end-of-life care. Interventions are available to assist but are scarcely used in everyday practice. Aim: To assess quantitative studies on interventions for adult patients with advanced cancer suffering from death anxiety. Data sources: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase and CINAHL were searched to identify quantitative or mixed studies on death anxiety or relatable existe

10.1111/sltb.12759Suicide & life-threatening behavior (2021)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by us; matched on Attitude to Death, death anxiety, mortality salience, terror management

Does self-esteem inflation mitigate mortality salience effects on suicide attitudes?: Introduction: Suicide stigma is a major barrier to prevention and intervention efforts. Using terror management theory as the guiding framework, the present study examined whether enhancing self-esteem would buffer against suicide stigma and lead to prosocial attitudes and behavior. Methods: Experimental methods were utilized in the present study. After being primed with death-related thoughts, participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) positive feedback (experimental grou

10.1177/1088868309352321Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc (2010)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by us; matched on Attitude to Death, death anxiety, mortality salience, terror management

Two decades of terror management theory: a meta-analysis of mortality salience research.: A meta-analysis was conducted on empirical trials investigating the mortality salience (MS) hypothesis of terror management theory (TMT). TMT postulates that investment in cultural worldviews and self-esteem serves to buffer the potential for death anxiety; the MS hypothesis states that, as a consequence, accessibility of death-related thought (MS) should instigate increased worldview and self-esteem defense and striving. Overall, 164 articles with 277 experiments were included. MS yielded moder

10.1177/1088868317753505Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc (2018)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by us; matched on Attitude to Death, Death, mortality salience, terror management

The Role of Close Relationships in Terror Management: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda.: Terror management theory outlines how humans seek self-esteem and worldview validation to manage death-related anxiety. Accumulating evidence reveals that close relationships serve a similar role. However, to date, there has been no synthesis of the literature that delineates when close relationships buffer mortality concerns, under what conditions, on which specific outcomes, and for whom. This systematic review presents over two decades of research to address these questions. Findings from 73

Research library, full list

226 to 250 of 460
Weissberger GH, Bergman YS, Maytles R, Trachtengot I (2025)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usDeath studies

Death perceptions, grief, and distress in Ultra-Orthodox Jews who witnessed the 2021 Meron disaster.

On April 29, 2021, during an Ultra-Orthodox annual communal event in Meron, a crowd rush resulted in the deaths of 45 individuals. Experiencing such events may intensify death proximity (subjective nearness to death, SNtD) and death anxiety, and increase distress. Furthermore, the experience of grief following the trauma may disrupt defense mechanisms that reduce death-related anxieties. Thus, we examined the mediating role of death anxiety on the association between SNtD and distress, and the possible moderating role of grief experiences on this model. Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews who experienced the Meron disaster (N = 168) responded to scales assessing demographics, SNtD, death anxiety, and psychological distress. Death anxiety mediated the SNtD-distress link and grief was a significant moderator. Specifically, for individuals low in grief, the association between high death anxiety an

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Lifshin U, Greenberg J, Syropoulos S, Leidner B, Helm PJ, Sullivan D, Horner D, Mikulincer M (2023)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usPersonality & social psychology bulletin1 citations

Perceived Similarity of the Self to Animals, Creativity, and Anxiety-: A Terror Management Analysis.

According to terror management theory, humans avoid death anxiety by embedding themselves within cultural worldviews that allow them to perceive themselves as more than mortal animals. However, individuals also differ in their trait-like tendency to dissociate from other animals. In six studies, we tested whether individuals who perceive themselves as more similar to animals (high-perceived similarity of the self to animals [PSSA]) invest more in creativity for terror management than low-PSSA individuals, but are also more vulnerable to experiencing anxiety and existential concerns. Supporting our hypotheses, PSSA was associated with investment in creativity and arts, especially after death primes (Studies 3 and 4). High-PSSA individuals had heightened trait anxiety and death-thought accessibility (Studies 5 and 6), and showed increased state anxiety following a negative feedback about t

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Baykan N, Arslantürk G, Durukan P (2021)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usOmega3 citations

Desensitizing Effect of Frequently Witnessing Death in an Occupation: A Study With Turkish Health-Care Professionals.

This study aimed to investigate anxiety and fear of death created by the consciousness of death in professionals who frequently witness death and to determine variables related to the dimensions of mortality awareness. Data were gathered from 212 health-care employees, primarily those in emergency medicine and intensive care. Variance analysis was used to assess sex and experience groups using the Bonferroni post hoc test. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to determine the predictive relationships. Health-care employees' fear of death decreased with experience. No significant difference was observed between the experience groups in terms of conservatism values such as conformity, tradition, and security in the theory of basic human values. Empathy level was determined to be significantly predictive of the mortality awareness dimensions. These findings indicate a desensit

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), fear of death (text), terror management (text)

Scott A, Schimel J, Sharp M (2021)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usJournal of personality and social psychology7 citations

Long live A(me)rica! An examination of the interplay between nationalistic-symbolic immortality striving and belief in life after death.

Terror management theory (TMT) proposes that the awareness of our eventual death is at odds with our evolved desire to live and that humans attempt to resolve this psychological conflict by investing in cultural worldviews that grant symbolic or literal immortality. The present studies examine the interplay between symbolic and literal immortality striving. Three studies show that, following a death reminder, only individuals who did not have a route to literal immortality (belief in an afterlife) increased how long they believe their culture (Canada in Studies 1 and 2, the United States in Study 3), will last by thousands of years. Study 4 demonstrated that this moderation effect cannot be explained by general religiosity; Study 5 conceptually replicated this finding using a different measure of perceived cultural longevity. Finally, Study 6 demonstrates that for those who were highly i

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Türkarslan KK, Okay D, Çevrim M, Bozo Ö (2020)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe Journal of general psychology12 citations

Life is short, stay awake: Death anxiety and bedtime procrastination.

In the present study, the relation between bedtime procrastination and death anxiety, and also the moderator roles of gender and purpose in life were investigated. Data were collected from 245 participants through an online survey. The results revealed that gender, but not purpose in life, moderated the relation between death anxiety and bedtime procrastination. The effect of death anxiety on bedtime procrastination was significant only for males. Further, this effect was still significant even after controlling circadian energy and self-control. The findings can be explained based on the Terror Management Theory. Bedtime procrastination can be considered risk-taking behavior, and it functions as a world view for males. Moreover, males might have regarded sleep as a waste of time, and therefore, delayed bedtime to increase their non-sleeping lifetime.

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Bodner E, Bergman YS (2019)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usResearch on aging9 citations

The Utility of a Positive Body Image Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults Who Perceive Death to Be Near and Fear It.

Physical changes are an inevitable part of the aging process. However, research has demonstrated inconclusive findings with regard to body image among older adults. This study attempts to clarify the utility of body image among this age-group, by adopting the framework of terror management theory. It is suggested that a positive body image may moderate the connection between two types of death concerns and psychological distress: subjective nearness-to-death and death anxiety. A convenience sample of 386 community-dwelling older adults, aged 60-97, filled scales measuring subjective nearness-to-death, positive body image, psychological distress, and death anxiety. A significant negative association was found between a positive body image and distress. Moreover, positive body image moderated the connection between distress and both subjective nearness-to-death and death anxiety. Thus, hol

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Postolică R, Enea V, Dafinoiu I, Petrov I, Azoicăi D (2019)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usDeath studies8 citations

Association of sense of coherence and supernatural beliefs with death anxiety and death depression among Romanian cancer patients.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association of supernatural beliefs and sense of coherence with death anxiety and death depression in a Romanian sample of cancer patients. We found support for the terror management theory worldview defence hypothesis postulating the presence of a curvilinear relation between death anxiety and supernatural beliefs among cancer patients. Results conformed to an inverted U-shape quadratic regression, indicating that cancer patients who scored moderately on supernatural beliefs were afraid of death the most, while death anxiety was lowest for the extreme atheists and extreme believers in supernatural entities.

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Chonody JM, Teater B (2016)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usJournal of women & aging16 citations

Why do I dread looking old?: A test of social identity theory, terror management theory, and the double standard of aging.

Outward appearance is one of the means by which age is determined, and fear of looking old may stem from fears about social identity and death. This study explored how social identity theory and terror management theory may help to explain the dread of looking old. University students from the United States, England, and Australia (N = 1,042) completed a questionnaire regarding their attitudes about aging and older adults. Results indicated that sex, age, beliefs about personal aging, and death anxiety explained 30.4% of the variance for participants' dread of looking old. Theoretical hypotheses were supported by our findings.

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Cox CR, Eaton S, Ekas NV, Van Enkevort EA (2015)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usResearch in developmental disabilities4 citations

Death concerns and psychological well-being in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Purpose: Utilizing a terror management theory perspective, the present research examined whether having a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with underlying cognitions and explicit worries about death, and their roles in psychological well-being. Method: 147 mothers of children with ASD (n=74) and typically developing children (n=73) completed a fear of death scale, as well as measures of death-thought accessibility, positive and negative affect, depression, and anxiety. Results: Following previous research, mothers of children with ASD reported worse psychological health. Additionally, they evidenced greater death-thought accessibility compared to mothers of typically developing children, but did not differ in explicit worries about mortality. Greater death-thought accessibility, in turn, mediated the influence of ASD diagnosis on negative affect, depression, and an

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), fear of death (text), terror management (text)

Hayslip B, Schuler ER, Page KS, Carver KS (2014)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usOmega1 citations

Probabilistic thinking and death anxiety: a terror management based study.

Terror Management Theory has been utilized to understand how death can change behavioral outcomes and social dynamics. One area that is not well researched is why individuals willingly engage in risky behavior that could accelerate their mortality. One method of distancing a potential life threatening outcome when engaging in risky behaviors is through stacking probability in favor of the event not occurring, termed probabilistic thinking. The present study examines the creation and psychometric properties of the Probabilistic Thinking scale in a sample of young, middle aged, and older adults (n = 472). The scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability for each of the four subscales, excellent overall internal consistency, and good construct validity regarding relationships with measures of death anxiety. Reliable age and gender effects in probabilistic thinking were also

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Routledge C (2012)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe Journal of social psychology13 citations

Failure causes fear: the effect of self-esteem threat on death-anxiety.

According to terror management theory (TMT; Greenberg, Pyszczynski, 1986), self-esteem protects people from anxiety associated with the knowledge of certain mortality. A number of studies provide evidence consistent with this assertion, but no studies have experimentally examined the effect of threatened self-esteem on death-anxiety. In the current study, self-esteem was manipulated and death-anxiety measured. A self-esteem threat increased death-anxiety relative to a self-esteem boost and non-self threat control condition.

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Hui VK, Coleman PG (2012)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usDeath studies2 citations

Do reincarnation beliefs protect older adult Chinese Buddhists against personal death anxiety?

The aim of this exploratory survey study was to develop and validate a Buddhist reincarnation beliefs scale and explore the relation between Buddhist reincarnation beliefs and personal death anxiety in 141 older adult Hong Kong Chinese Buddhists. Buddhist reincarnation beliefs were unrelated to personal death anxiety. This suggests that not all religious afterlife beliefs have death anxiety buffering power as proposed by Terror Management Theory, perhaps because Buddhists view reincarnation not as a solace but rather as a renewal of sufferings due to unwholesome karma. Future cross-religion comparison studies could investigate the efficacy of reincarnation beliefs as a personal death anxiety defense mechanism in a Hindu sample.

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Holbrook C, Sousa P, Hahn-Holbrook J (2011)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usJournal of personality and social psychology18 citations

Unconscious vigilance: worldview defense without adaptations for terror, coalition, or uncertainty management.

Individuals subtly reminded of death, coalitional challenges, or feelings of uncertainty display exaggerated preferences for affirmations and against criticisms of their cultural in-groups. Terror management, coalitional psychology, and uncertainty management theories postulate this "worldview defense" effect as the output of mechanisms evolved either to allay the fear of death, foster social support, or reduce anxiety by increasing adherence to cultural values. In 4 studies, we report evidence for an alternative perspective. We argue that worldview defense owes to unconscious vigilance, a state of accentuated reactivity to affective targets (which need not relate to cultural worldviews) that follows detection of subtle alarm cues (which need not pertain to death, coalitional challenges, or uncertainty). In Studies 1 and 2, death-primed participants produced exaggerated ratings of worldv

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), fear of death (text), terror management (text)

Popham LE, Kennison SM, Bradley KI (2011)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usDeath studies10 citations

Ageism and risk-taking in young adults: evidence for a link between death anxiety and ageism.

The authors investigated the relationship between ageism and risk-taking in young adults. They hypothesized that young adults may attempt to distance themselves from their future older selves and from an awareness of their mortality by seeking out experiences that make them feel strong, energetic, and invulnerable (i.e., experiences involving risk-taking). We report a study whose results confirmed the hypothesis. Our study involved 408 undergraduates (226 women, 182 men) who completed the Centers for Disease Control's 2007 State and Local Youth Risk Behavior Survey and measures of 2 distinct aspects of ageism: (a) ageist attitudes and (b) ageist behaviors. Both ageist attitudes and behaviors correlated positively with risk-taking (i.e., sexual behavior, alcohol use, cigarette use, and drug use). The results are consistent with terror management theory's view of ageism as a buffer against

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Bozo O, Tunca A, Simşek Y (2009)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe Journal of psychology13 citations

The effect of death anxiety and age on health-promoting behaviors: a terror-management theory perspective.

The authors aimed to examine the effect of death anxiety on the reports of health-promoting behaviors and to determine the role of age in this relation using a terror-management theory perspective. Participants were 100 individuals from young adult (those who were 20-35 years of age) and older adult (those who were 60 years of age and older) groups whom the authors assigned to the death anxiety or control conditions. The questionnaire set included a demographic information sheet and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (S. Walker, K. R. Sechrist, & N. J. Pender, 1987). Before administering the scales, the authors gave the participants in the experimental condition a brief excerpt whose content induced death-related thoughts and led the participants to think about their own death. The authors calculated a 2 (young adults vs. older adults) x 2 (death anxiety vs. no death anxiety) betw

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Mosher CE, Danoff-Berg S (2007)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usDeath studies30 citations

Death anxiety and cancer-related stigma: a terror management analysis.

In a study designed to examine correlates of cancer-related stigma, 405 college students were assigned randomly to listen to an audiotaped interview in which the target's cancer type and smoking status were manipulated. In the lung cancer conditions, target gender also was manipulated. Social distance and emotional responses differed according to participant gender, death anxiety, and target cancer type. Participant gender and target characteristics also were associated with perceptions of the target's character. Findings partially support terror management theory and suggest that death attitudes, gender norms, and diagnostic status influence social distancing from individuals with cancer.

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Bassett JF (2007)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usDeath studies12 citations

Psychological defenses against death anxiety: integrating Terror Management Theory and Firestone's Separation Theory.

The author attempts to integrate Terror Management Theory (TMT) and R. W. Firestone's Separation Theory (1984, 1994). Both theories emphasize defense against death anxiety as a key human motive. Whereas TMT focuses extensively on self-esteem and cultural worldview, Firestone posited additional defenses such as gene survival, self-nourishing behaviors, addictive couple bonds, and adopting an anti-sexual approach to life. TMT offers a strong base of experimentally validated ideas and the experimental paradigms to test the broad array of defenses enumerated in Firestone's Separation Theory. Therefore, an integration of the two theories would be beneficial to a fuller understanding of psychological defenses against death anxiety.

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), death anxiety (text), terror management (text)

Valentini E, Gyimes IL (2018)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usBiological psychology1 citations

Visual cues of threat elicit greater steady-state electroencephalographic responses than visual reminders of death.

Terror management theory (TMT) suggests that reminders of death activate an exclusive anxiety mechanism different from the one activated by other types of symbolic threats. This notion is supported by evidence showing how experimental participants verbally reflecting on their own death are then influenced in their opinions and behaviours. A previous study showed that magnitude of electroencephalography (EEG) activity is greater when images depicting death-related content are coupled with painful thermal stimuli compared to threat-related content. Here we expand on previous research by testing whether similar effects may be brought about by passive observation of generic visual reminders of death. More precisely, we hypothesised that fast periodic presentation of death-related vs. more generic threat-related images determine a preferential modulation of brain activity measured by means of

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), Death (mesh), terror management (text)

Schwartz DB (2013)reviewMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usNutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition18 citations

Integrating patient-centered care and clinical ethics into nutrition practice.

The purpose of this article is to present the application of patient-centered care and clinical ethics into nutrition practice, illustrate the process in a case study, and promote change in the current healthcare clinical ethics model. Nutrition support clinicians have an opportunity to add another dimension to their practice with the incorporation of patient-centered care and clinical ethics. This represents a culture change for healthcare professionals, including nutrition support clinicians, patients and their family. All of these individuals are stakeholders in the process and have the ability to modify the current healthcare system to improve communication and facilitate a change by humanizing nutrition support practice. Nutrition support is a medical, life-sustaining treatment, and the use of this therapy requires knowledge by the nutrition support clinician of patient-centered car

matched on Terminal Care (mesh), Advance Care Planning (keyword)

Taubman-Ben-Ari O, Erel-Brodsky H, Ben-Kimhy R (2026)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usDeath studies1 citations

Collapse and validation of terror management anxiety buffers -therapists' reactions to war.

This qualitative study aimed to analyze therapists' reactions to the Israel-Hamas war, using lenses offered by Terror Management Theory (TMT). Israeli therapists (N = 201) were asked to share their experiences, feelings and perceptions in light of the events and their recent professional interventions. Findings reveal four themes: first, showing that the war indeed raised existential anxiety and mortality salience, and then, in view of these, the functioning of the TMT anxiety buffer mechanisms in additional three themes, namely enhancement of self-esteem; reinforcement of collective worldviews; and seeking proximity to others. Interestingly, we observed both the collapse of these mechanisms after exposure to the salience of death, as well as their validation as a further reaction. Moreover, we identified breakdown and validation in both personal and professional elements of the anxiety

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), mortality salience (text), terror management (text)

Robinson B, Stubbings DR, Davies JL, Skillicorn D (2026)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usPsychological reports

An Investigation Into the Unconscious Influence of Mortality Salience Upon Sentencing Decisions.

This study aimed to explore if unconscious awareness of death influences the harshness of offender sentencing. According to Terror Management Theory death is anxiety-provoking, and self-esteem and a belief in a shared cultural worldview keep anxiety at bay. When these factors are challenged then death awareness increases. These dynamics could be relevant in a court setting in which judges have to make decisions regarding offenders who may have different world views and in cases that trigger the awareness of mortality. We used subliminal priming to activate the awareness of death and recorded the effect it had on decision-making against a hypothetical offender. Participants (N = 303) were recruited and randomly assigned to either an experimental mortality condition or a neutral control condition. Analysis revealed that death-related subliminal priming brought about harsher sentencing effe

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), mortality salience (text), terror management (text)

Oreg A, Taubman-Ben-Ari O (2025)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usDeath studies2 citations

Spontaneous war weddings as a reaction to a national trauma: A terror management theory perspective.

On 7 October 2023, 3,000 Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel. Over 1,300 people were killed on that day, and over 240 were abducted to Gaza. On October 8, Israel declared war on Hamas. The current study delves into the prevailing phenomenon of spontaneous war weddings held in military settings during the war. Drawing from Terror Management Theory (TMT) and utilizing an ethnographic approach, we analyze published media reports of these weddings. We suggest that this phenomenon is a sign of three terror management anxiety buffer mechanisms activated in view of current national and personal mortality salience: the validation of cultural worldviews; the enhancement of self-esteem; and the pursuit of proximity, in the form of a sense of closeness to attachment figures. All three anxiety-buffer mechanisms contribute to the fortification of psychological defenses, the denial

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), mortality salience (text), terror management (text)

Hu J, He W, Zhou K (2020)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usThe Journal of applied psychology60 citations

The mind, the heart, and the leader in times of crisis: How and when COVID-19-triggered mortality salience relates to state anxiety, job engagement, and prosocial behavior.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disruptive event devastating to the workplace and the global community. Drawing on terror management theory, we develop and test a model that explains how COVID-19-triggered mortality salience influences employees' state anxiety and their responses at and outside work. We conducted an experience sampling method study using employees from an information technology firm in China when COVID-19 was surging there and two experiments using employees from a variety of industries in the United States when it became a new epicenter of the global outbreak. Results from 3 studies largely supported our theoretical hypotheses. Specifically, our research showed that mortality salience concerning COVID-19 was positively related to employees' state anxiety (general anxiety in Study 1 and Study 2 and death-specific anxiety in Study 3). Our studies also found that

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), mortality salience (text), terror management (text)

Luo S, Wu B, Fan X, Zhu Y, Wu X, Han S (2019)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usNeuroImage10 citations

Thoughts of death affect reward learning by modulating salience network activity.

Thoughts of death substantially influence human behavior and psychological well-being. A large number of behavioral studies have shown evidence that asking individuals to think about death or mortality salience leads to significant changes of their behaviors. These findings support the well-known terror management theory to account for the psychological mechanisms of existential anxiety. However, despite increasing findings of mortality salience effects on human behavior, how the brain responds to reminders of mortality and changes the activity underlying subsequent behavior remains poorly understood. By scanning healthy adults (N = 80) of both sexes using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we showed that, relative to reading emotionally neutral sentences, reading sentences that evoke death-related thoughts decreased the salience network activity, reduced the connectivity between the

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), mortality salience (text), terror management (text)

Caspi-Berkowitz N, Mikulincer M, Hirschberger G, Ein-Dor T, Shaver PR (2019)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usJournal of personality and social psychology2 citations

To die for a cause but not for a companion: Attachment-related variations in the terror management function of self-sacrifice.

In 8 studies, we examined the terror management function of self-sacrifice and the moderating role of attachment orientations. Studies 1-5 focused on readiness to self-sacrifice for a cause, whereas Studies 6-8 focused on self-sacrifice to save a relationship partner's life. In Studies 1-3 and 6, we examined whether mortality salience increases readiness to self-sacrifice. In Studies 4-5 and 7-8, we examined the defensive nature and anxiety-buffering role of self-sacrifice-that is, whether providing another terror management defense reduces the readiness to self-sacrifice following mortality salience and whether thoughts about self-sacrifice mitigate death-thought accessibility. Findings indicated that self-sacrifice for a cause served a terror management function mainly among attachment-anxious participants, whereas self-sacrifice for a relationship partner served this defensive functio

matched on Attitude to Death (mesh), mortality salience (text), terror management (text)

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