The Psychological Correlates of Decreased Death Anxiety After a Near-Death Experience: The Role of Self-Esteem, Mindfulness, and Death Representations
Simone Bianco, I. Testoni, A. Palmieri, S. Solomon, J. Hart
Journal of humanistic psychology December 5, 2019 DOI: 10.1177/0022167819892107 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
People who have had a near-death experience report lower fear of death, higher self-esteem, greater mindfulness, and a view of death as a transition rather than annihilation, compared to those who have not. The effect of a near-death experience on death anxiety is both direct and indirect, mediated by changes in self-esteem and how death is represented. These findings, based on 102 individuals with a near-death experience and 104 without, suggest that psychological factors beyond the experience itself contribute to reduced death anxiety.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 206 |
| Population | People who have had a near-death experience and those who have not |
| Keywords | Psychology |
| Citations | 35 |
| Key finding | Near-death experiences are associated with lower death anxiety, and this effect is partially mediated by higher self-esteem and viewing death as a transition. |
Abstract
Near-death experiences (NDE) are intense events that can have profound psychological consequences. Although decreased fear of death after an NDE is a well-documented phenomenon, it is unclear what psychological factors are associated with reduced death anxiety. In this study, grounded in terror management theory, we compared 102 people who had an NDE with 104 individuals who did not. Participants completed measures of death anxiety, self-esteem, mindfulness, and death representation. Results indicated that people who had an NDE had lower fear of death, higher self-esteem, greater mindfulness, and viewed death more as a transition rather than as absolute annihilation. Subsequent analyses found that NDE had a direct effect on death anxiety, and that the effect of NDE on death anxiety was also mediated by indirect effects on self-esteem and death representation. Implications of these findings are considered, limitations of the present study are acknowledged, and suggestions for future theory and research are proffered.