Unpacking Existential Anxiety: Impacts on Mental Health in Iranian University Students

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between existential anxiety and mental health among Iranian university students, with a specific focus on three dimensions of existential anxiety: death, meaninglessness, and guilt. Drawing on a sample of 256 students aged 18 to 30, the research employed quantitative analyses to assess how these existential components relate to emotional, psychological, and social well-being. The study’s tools included the existential anxiety and the Mental Health Questionnaire. Results revealed a strong negative correlation between existential anxiety and mental health, with meaninglessness emerging as the most significant predictor. Regression analyses confirmed that each subcomponent independently contributed to reduced well-being, with distinct patterns across mental health dimensions. These findings underscore the multidimensional nature of existential anxiety and its place within broader existential moods such as guilt and meaninglessness. By examining these dynamics in a non-Western, non-clinical population, the study extends cross-cultural understanding in humanistic and existential psychology and highlights meaning as a vital determinant of mental health.