Death Anxiety Among Urban Middle Class: The Predictive Role of Income and Symbolic Money Attitudes

Abstract

Terror management theory argues that money can function as an existential anxiety buffer. Therefore, the primary goal of this study (N = 153) was to examine the relationship of income and symbolic money attitudes to death anxiety among middle-class individuals. In line with our predictions, results demonstrated that higher income earners experienced less death anxiety than their lower income counterparts. In addition, the more those living on low incomes regarded money as a symbol of power, the more prone to death anxiety they were. Low income and symbolic money attitudes, namely the evil and power dimensions, strongly contributed to death anxiety, with income serving as a moderator in the power dimension and death anxiety association: it was significant and positive only for those at greater risk of poverty. Personal income also seemed to play a crucial role in the connection between left–right self-placement and death anxiety, especially among male participants upon whom other people were financially dependent. Implications of these findings are discussed.