Structural Conduciveness,Personality Characteristics and Death Anxiety

Abstract

Several writers suggest that social integration attenuates death anxiety. This hypothesized relationship is conceptualized as being a result of efforts to relieve cognitive dissonance. Since the magnitude of reward derived from social participation varies with social status, it is hypothesized that death anxiety varies directly with social status. Since position in the life cycle affects the salience of death and consequently the possibility of avoiding dissonance, it is hypothesized that death anxiety varies directly with age. The predictive power of these structural position variables was then compared to that of personality correlates of death anxiety.

Analysis of data from a statewide probability sample of male Virginia residents (N = 699) provided support for the hypotheses. Four dimensions of death anxiety were examined, and the structural and personality variables have nearly equivalent separate effects on two: death denial and death avoidance. Personality is a somewhat better predictor of death fear and reluctance to interact with the dying than are the social structural variables.

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