An Existential Perspective on Death Anxiety, Retirement, and Related Research Problems
- PMID: 27806738
- DOI: 10.1017/S0714980816000465
An Existential Perspective on Death Anxiety, Retirement, and Related Research Problems
Abstract
Aspects of existentialism relevant to existence and death anxiety (DA) are discussed. Included are the "thrownness" of existence, being-with-others, the motivational influence of inevitable death, the search for meaning, making the most of existence by taking responsibility for one's own life, and coping with existential isolation. The attempted separation of DA from object anxiety is a significant difficulty. The correlations among age, gender, and DA are variable. Personality and role-oriented problems in the transition to retirement are discussed along with Erikson's notion of "generativity" as an expression of the energy and purpose of mid-life. Furthermore, methodological and linguistic problems in DA research are considered. The article suggests qualitative methodologies as an interpersonal means of exploring DA within the contexts of psychotherapy and counselling.
Keywords: aging; anxiété sur la mort; death anxiety; existential; existentiel; meaning; retirement; retraite; signification; vieillissement.
Similar articles
-
The existential way to recovery.Psychiatr Danub. 2009 Dec;21(4):453-62. Psychiatr Danub. 2009. PMID: 19935478
-
Existential Issues in Sexual Medicine: The Relation Between Death Anxiety and Hypersexuality.Sex Med Rev. 2018 Jan;6(1):3-10. doi: 10.1016/j.sxmr.2017.10.004. Epub 2017 Nov 9. Sex Med Rev. 2018. PMID: 29129680 Review.
-
Older Adults and the Fear of Death: The Protective Function of Generativity.Can J Aging. 2016 Jun;35(2):261-72. doi: 10.1017/S0714980816000143. Epub 2016 Apr 27. Can J Aging. 2016. PMID: 27118066
-
Existential anxiety as related to conceptualization of self and of death, denial of death, and religiosity.Psychol Rep. 1992 Dec;71(3 Pt 2):1064-6. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1992.71.3f.1064. Psychol Rep. 1992. PMID: 1480685
-
The relief of existential suffering.Arch Intern Med. 2012 Oct 22;172(19):1501-5. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.3633. Arch Intern Med. 2012. PMID: 22945389 Review.
Cited by
-
Retirement Planning and Financial Anxiety among Nigerian Civil Servants: Insights from Social Comparison Theory.Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 May 17;13(5):425. doi: 10.3390/bs13050425. Behav Sci (Basel). 2023. PMID: 37232662 Free PMC article.
-
Death anxiety and its relationship with family function and meaning in life in patients with advanced cancer-A cross-sectional survey in China.Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2022 Aug 26;9(10):100134. doi: 10.1016/j.apjon.2022.100134. eCollection 2022 Oct. Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2022. PMID: 36204085 Free PMC article.
-
Proactive Personality and Social Support With Pre-retirement Anxiety: Mediating Role of Subjective Career Success.Front Psychol. 2021 Jul 2;12:569065. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.569065. eCollection 2021. Front Psychol. 2021. PMID: 34276458 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical