Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-04-16DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2487770
Charles A Corr, Kenneth J Doka
{"title":"Theories and concepts about society, dying, and bereavement commonly discussed in education about death, dying, and bereavement.","authors":"Charles A Corr, Kenneth J Doka","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487770","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2487770","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article describes and offers some evaluations of fifteen prominent theories and concepts in the field of death, dying, and bereavement. These theories and concepts range from claims about \"death-denying societies\" and the concept of \"societal death systems\" to theories about coping with dying and coping with loss, grief, and bereavement. Also examined are the concept of disenfranchised grief and theories about contrasting grief styles. Because each of these theories and concepts is often discussed in education about death, dying, and bereavement, it is important that instructors and students understand both their strengths and limitations. The goal of this analysis is twofold: (1) To help guide educators as they explain these theories and concepts to their students and readers, and (2) To assist educators in commenting on the soundness and usefulness of these theoretical frameworks. Five specific lessons for educators are also set forth in the course of this discussion.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143976650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-04-15DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2469137
Michael Rihs, Flurina L Brodwolf, Fred W Mast
{"title":"Apocalypse now: Thoughts about human extinction under mortality salience increase death-thought accessibility but reduce worldview defense.","authors":"Michael Rihs, Flurina L Brodwolf, Fred W Mast","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2469137","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2469137","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Various threats (e.g., climate change, nuclear wars, pandemics) pose the risk of human extinction. This represents a threat to human cultures and should result in effects similar to mortality salience (MS). At the same time, thoughts about human extinction reduce the belief in a long-lasting culture. This conflicts with the striving for symbolic immortality as a strategy to buffer MS. To investigate how thoughts about human extinction affect terror management, participants were presented with either an apocalyptic, destructive, or neutral video in combination with a manipulation of MS. Participants reported highest death-thought accessibility when watching the apocalyptic video under MS. However, worldview defense was decreased after watching the apocalyptic video under MS. These findings point to a dissociation between proximal and distal defense mechanisms: Thoughts about human extinction increase proximal defenses under MS, but they undermine the strive for symbolic immortality by worldview defense as distal defenses.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143986005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-04-09DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2487787
Carol Tishelman, Sofía Weiss Goitiandía, Johanna L Degen, Andrea Kleeberg-Niepage, Anna-Clara Rullander, Max Kleijberg
{"title":"Care, dying, death, and loss in children's drawings from the Covid-19 pandemic in Sweden.","authors":"Carol Tishelman, Sofía Weiss Goitiandía, Johanna L Degen, Andrea Kleeberg-Niepage, Anna-Clara Rullander, Max Kleijberg","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487787","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487787","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most studies gather data on children's Covid-19 experiences from proxy adults rather than from children. We explore depictions of end-of-life issues in drawings created by children in Sweden about their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic, generated in response to an open invitation to schools, teachers, culture centers, etc. from a public archive of children's art. A transdisciplinary team inductively analyzed 172 drawings containing images of care, dying, death and loss, finding qualitatively different portrayals differentiated by focus on (re)actors versus victims in the pandemic. The virus was often drawn as an aggressive, active agent, while humans, including professionals, appeared reactive and at a loss. The largest group of victims were without identity, although some children depicted themselves as victims. These children illustrate Covid-19-related questions, concerns, and fears about the end of life, reflecting \"epistemological uncertainty\" resulting from the pandemic. This uncertainty should be addressed, for example by trustworthy support in making sense of surrounding world, and by pro-active death educational approaches for both children and the adults who are in contact with them.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-26"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143810687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-04-09DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2487778
Donghun Kim, Chohae Kim, Goeun Lee, Nareum Kim, Chiwoong Hwang, Ji Hyun Back, Yongjun Zhu
{"title":"Comparing social media engagement between women with suicidal ideation and those who have attempted suicide.","authors":"Donghun Kim, Chohae Kim, Goeun Lee, Nareum Kim, Chiwoong Hwang, Ji Hyun Back, Yongjun Zhu","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487778","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487778","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examined differences in social media engagement between women with suicidal ideation only (SI-only) and those who had attempted suicide (SA). We used content, statistical, and time series analyses on 3,510 tweets from 41 women in South Korea who had ideated and/or attempted suicide. Most tweets focused on everyday life and interests (38.0%, 1,355 tweets), while others expressed mental health distress and challenges (0.6%, 22), school or work-related stress (3.4%, 120), social relationship stress (1.5%, 52), and explicit suicidal statements (0.6%, 22). SI-only users posted the most on Saturdays, while SA users peaked on Sundays. Closer to the time of suicide, SA users increasingly posted explicit suicidal content, whereas SI-only users expressed more negative emotions. Our findings could help identify individuals at risk of suicide on social media, distinguishing between SI-only and SA users to inform better interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143810726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-04-09DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2487772
Lea Ferrari, Teresa M Sgaramella, Ines Testoni
{"title":"Death education and educators: The role of attitudes, anxiety, and future time perspective.","authors":"Lea Ferrari, Teresa M Sgaramella, Ines Testoni","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487772","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2487772","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study explores the impact of death representations on openness to death education among university students in teaching and education degree programs. Drawing from Terror Management Theory, the roles of future time perspective (FTP), death anxiety, and the ontological representation of death as total annihilation were analyzed. The results show that viewing death as annihilation negatively impacts FTP, reducing the ability to think about the future. Diminished FTP increases negative thoughts about death and lack of death acceptance. When FTP still allows making sense of life despite death, it reduces death rejection, however, it does not increase openness to death education, activating proximal defenses. Conversely, when death representation constrains FTP, death thoughts emerge that lead to desiring death education pathways, activating distal defenses. The study highlights the importance of addressing death representations and developing a healthy time perspective in training programs for educators.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143810728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-04-09DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2487768
Matteo Zuccala, Maree Abbott
{"title":"Death, love, and evolution: Conceptions of death beyond terror.","authors":"Matteo Zuccala, Maree Abbott","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487768","DOIUrl":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487768","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent years have seen an influx in interest on the role of death anxiety in human behavior. Terror Management Theory prevails as the leading theoretical and empirical paradigm utilized in the literature; however emerging research has revealed serious shortcomings with the paradigm. In this paper we examine the concept of death anxiety from a socio-evolutionary perspective. We outline how the attachment system evolved to prevent death during an extended period of juvenile vulnerability and is further co-opted into adulthood to maintain survival. Through a broader understanding of contemporary evolutionary thinking, including attachment theory, we propose that the hitherto inconsistent and amorphous definition of death anxiety be more usefully re-conceptualized as a fear of premature death. We explore how this re-conceptualization can be used to help explicate phenomena that existing paradigms have until now struggled to explain.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143810730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2487781
José Javier Callejo González, Alfonso Marquina Márquez, Ricardo Jiménez Aboitiz
{"title":"Attitudes of future secondary education teachers in Spain toward death education.","authors":"José Javier Callejo González, Alfonso Marquina Márquez, Ricardo Jiménez Aboitiz","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487781","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2487781","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article addresses the attitudes of future Secondary Education teachers toward the inclusion of death in education. For this purpose, a survey was conducted among students of the Master's Degree in Secondary Education Teacher Training at the University of Valladolid (Spain) in which these attitudes and others related to the conception of death were considered along with other independent variables that could influence the former, such as gender, the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic or the educational branch to which they were oriented. The results show a positive attitude among the group, with significant differences in some variables (gender, subjective social class, personal rejection of death as a taboo topic) Their analysis and discussion provide important considerations on the possible inclusion of death education in the initial training of secondary school teachers.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143794995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-04-04DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2487797
Alejandro Arévalo-Martínez, Carlos Barbosa-Torres, María Elena García-Baamonde, César Luis Díaz-Muñoz, Juan Manuel Moreno-Manso
{"title":"Symptoms of prolonged grief in chronic pain patients: Results of a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Alejandro Arévalo-Martínez, Carlos Barbosa-Torres, María Elena García-Baamonde, César Luis Díaz-Muñoz, Juan Manuel Moreno-Manso","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2487797","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2487797","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chronic pain and prolonged grief disorder (PGD) share emotional, cognitive, and motivational components related to significant loss. This cross-sectional study examines whether individuals with chronic pain present symptoms of PGD and whether time since diagnosis plays a role in psychological deterioration. Thirty patients with chronic primary low back pain (CPLBP) and thirty healthy controls were recruited. The Inventory of Complicated Grief-Revised, the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the 5-level EQ-5D version were used. The results indicate clinically significant psychological distress and reduced quality of life in CPLBP patients. Furthermore, their psychological profile showed similarities with symptoms of prolonged grief. While time since diagnosis appeared to be linked to greater psychological distress, its effect diminished when considering pain intensity. These findings suggest that grief-related responses may contribute to chronic pain and highlight the need for interventions that address both emotional and physical impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143787904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-03-24DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2480795
Sandra Pérez Rodríguez, Maria Jose Almela Ojeda, Erasmo Saucedo Uribe
{"title":"Psychopathological and interpersonal factors associated with suicide attempts in Mexican clinical patients with and without a history of child sexual abuse.","authors":"Sandra Pérez Rodríguez, Maria Jose Almela Ojeda, Erasmo Saucedo Uribe","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2480795","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2480795","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Suicidal behavior in the Mexican population is understudied, and there is a paucity of research exploring the role of psychological factors and of the interpersonal theory of suicide in this population. The objectives of this work were: to explore the associations between interpersonal and psychopathological variables and suicide attempts. We also explored psychopathological differences in suicidal behavior between patients with a history of child sexual abuse and those without and examined the most accurate predictors of suicide attempts in the study sample. Finally, we tested the mediation between related variables. Results showed that the most accurate predictors of suicide attempts were perceived burdensomeness, suicidal ideation, and suicide plans. Patients with a history of child sexual abuse differed in levels of depressive symptoms, hopelessness, perceived burdensomeness, and NSSI frequency. Suicide plans mediated the associated between perceived burdensomeness and suicide attempts. Clinical and intervention implications are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143699912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Death StudiesPub Date : 2025-03-19DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2476985
Mary C Jensen, Stella W J Son, Evan J Basting, Alyssa M Medenblik, Jacqueline A Sullivan, Tara Cornelius, Gregory L Stuart
{"title":"Adverse and benevolent childhood experiences moderate the association between PTSD symptoms and suicidal ideation.","authors":"Mary C Jensen, Stella W J Son, Evan J Basting, Alyssa M Medenblik, Jacqueline A Sullivan, Tara Cornelius, Gregory L Stuart","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2476985","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2476985","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are a robust risk factor for SI. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can increase the risk for SI in the context of PTSD symptoms. Social support has been shown to buffer the impact of ACEs on SI. The current study aimed to examine the interaction between benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs), ACEs, and PTSD symptoms on SI. We administered a questionnaire to 837 undergraduate students (<i>M</i><sub>Age</sub> = 19.1; 88.3% White; 76.3% women). The three-way interaction between ACEs, BCEs, and PTSD symptoms on SI was significant, <i>F</i>(9,721) = 49.89, <i>p</i> < .001, and accounted for 38.38% of the variance in SI. The results of our study suggest that BCEs would weaken the relationship between PTSD symptoms and SI, regardless of ACE-level. These findings may inform future suicide research, prevention, and intervention efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143656451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}