Fear of Death and Fertility Reconsidered

Abstract

Kastenbaum raised and examined the hypothesis that fear of death and fertility are directly related phenomena, concluding that procreation was one among several desirable forms of self-continuation. Re-examination of this hypothesis, using Templer's Manifest Death Anxiety Scale and a community sample (N=234) of reproductive and post-reproductive aged males and females, revealed that the hypothesis was confirmed among high school or less educated respondents. Within this subsample, confirmation was found among all females concerning their experienced, desired, and expected fertility. However, their male counterparts exhibited confirmation only with respect to desired and expected fertility, and only if they were within the reproductive age range.

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