Death anxiety in older adults: A quantitative review

This literature review quantitatively summarized 49 published and unpublished research studies concerning the relationship between death anxiety and age, ego integrity, gender, institutionalization, physical and psychological problems, and religiosity in older adults. Results indicated that lower ego integrity, more physical problems, and more psychological problems are predictive of higher levels of death anxiety in elderly people. A suggestive but equivocal relationship was found for the predictor institutionalization. Furthermore, the review statistically demonstrated the importance of using sound methods for measuring death anxiety and sampling from the elderly population. It has been said that we may learn looking backward-we live looking forward. A person's thinking and behavior may be influenced more than we recognize by his views, hopes and fears concerning the nature and meaning of death.