The role of death fears and attachment processes in social anxiety: a novel hypothesis explored

ABSTRACT Objective: Research suggests an association between the fear of death and social anxiety, but the mechanisms through which these constructs are related remain unclear. From a socio-evolutionary perspective, abandonment and rejection are associated with premature death, and appraisals of the importance of social relationships for maintaining survival are influenced by one’s upbringing, reflected in individual differences in attachment patterns. We thus explored whether different attachment dimensions mediated the relationship between death anxiety and social anxiety to differing degrees, according to the value afforded by these dimensions to the importance of relationships for survival. Method: Self-report data on death anxiety, social anxiety, and two dimensions of attachment (anxiety and avoidance) was collected from 93 participants with varying levels of social anxiety. Results: Supporting the hypotheses, there was an indirect effect of death anxiety on social anxiety via attachment anxiety, even when fear of own death and fear of other’s death were analysed separately. No indirect effect via attachment avoidance was observed. Conclusions: These results clarify the mechanisms underpinning the association between social anxiety and the fear of death, and suggest that a socio-evolutionary framework provides utility in better understanding these clinical constructs. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: (1) Research demonstrates a hitherto unclear association between the experience of social anxiety and underlying death fears. (2) A socio-evolutionary approach highlights the intimate relationship between abandonment/rejection and premature death during our evolutionary history. (3) Appraisals of the importance of social relationships for maintaining survival ought to be influenced by developmental experiences. What this topic adds: (1) We propose that variation in these appraisals are reflected in the different attachment dimensions (anxiety and avoidance). (2) In support of this, we found that attachment anxiety mediated the relationship between death anxiety and social anxiety, whereas attachment avoidance did not. (3) These results clarify the mechanisms underpinning the connection between social anxiety and underlying death fears and emphasise the utility of socio-evolutionary approaches to clinical syndromes.