Mediator role of presence of meaning and self-esteem in the relationship of social support and death anxiety

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Yuxin Huang¹  Ziyao Guan³  Fang Yan²  James A. Wiley¹  Nancy R. Reynolds⁵  Siyuan Tang²  Mei Sun² 

[1] Teaching and Research Section of Clinical Nursing, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University;Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University;School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, University of New South Wales;Family and Community Medicine and Institute of Health Policy Studies, University of California;School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University

关键词: COVID-19;    Death Anxiety;    Presence of meaning;    Terror management theory;    self-esteem;    social support;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1018097

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Death anxiety has increased following the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Terror Management theory has suggested social support, presence of meaning and self-esteem functioned as death anxiety buffers, few existing works have explored the mechanism of how social support, presence of meaning, and self-esteem buffer death anxiety. To identify these mechanisms is the aim of this study. Our cross-sectional study was conducted with 1167 people in China from 19 May 2020 to 1 June 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak. The average age of participants was 26 years. Data were by questionnaire, including demographic information, the Templer's Death anxiety scale, the multidimensional scale of perceived social support, the presence of meaning scale, and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Results, using structural equation modeling, showed presence of meaning and self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between social support and death anxiety, respectively and sequentially. Overall, our findings demonstrate significant mediator roles of presence of meaning and self-esteem in the relationship of social support and death anxiety. Multi-component interventions are needed to manage death anxiety by targeting increasing social support, presence of meaning and self-esteem and increasing presence of meaning and self-esteem when social support is diminished in the pandemic.

【 授权许可】

CC BY