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Abstract

Fear of COVID-19 may make the imminence of death prescient for undergraduate students, increasing death anxiety and worsening mental health. Formal death education may provide benefits such as reduced fear of COVID-19 and death anxiety, and improved mental health. In this study, 86 undergraduate students completed a pre- and post-semester online questionnaire on fear of COVID-19, death anxiety, and mental health outcomes. Findings indicate indirect effects of death anxiety on fear of COVID-19 to anxiety. Moreover, fear of COVID-19, individual concerns about death, and death anxiety were reduced over the semester for undergraduate students in formal death education.

Keywords

COVID-19 death anxiety concerns about death anxiety symptoms

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The Impact of Death and Dying Education for Undergraduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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