A new analysis demonstrates the strong link between mental disorders and death anxiety
07.03.2025
Death anxiety, commonly defined as the apprehension experienced when thinking about death or the process of dying, has long been considered a fundamental aspect of human distress due to its inevitable and universal nature. Various systematic studies have examined the link between death anxiety and the symptoms of various psychological disorders, highlighting that this type of anxiety could play a key role in the development and maintenance of multiple mental disorders.
Researchers from the Department of Clinical Psychology at Babeș-Bolyai University (Romania) and the Departments of General Psychology and Developmental and Socialization Psychology at the University of Padua have published a meta-analysis of 129 studies involving over 34,000 participants in the journal "Nature Human Behaviour." They found positive associations between death anxiety and variables related to psychological distress and psychopathology, such as anxiety (including COVID-related anxiety), depression, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These associations were confirmed in both the general population and clinical samples already presenting symptoms of mental disorders, with a greater association between death anxiety and psychological distress in samples composed of individuals with physical illnesses.
"Although our results have highlighted significant associations between death anxiety, psychological distress, and psychopathology, suggesting a possible transdiagnostic role (beyond diagnostic criteria) of death anxiety, it is important to note that most of the included studies were cross-sectional (all variables measured at the same time) and of low methodological quality. Additionally, many studies used tools that assessed only one dimension of death anxiety, while it is likely a multidimensional construct, comprising different components, distinguishing, for example, between the fear of dying and the fear of what happens after death. Our results support the need for future investigations through longitudinal studies that repeatedly and prospectively measure death anxiety before the symptoms of mental disorders develop, in large cohorts of individuals," comments Ioana Alina Cristea, author of the study and professor at the Department of General Psychology at the University of Padua.
"From a methodological perspective, this meta-analysis highlights the ongoing challenges in this area of research: in particular, the high heterogeneity and variable methodological quality of the analyzed studies suggest the need to adopt more rigorous approaches. One possible direction to address these issues is represented by emerging methodological strategies in psychology such as pre-registration, defining hypotheses and analyses a priori, and multi-lab studies, where independent research groups replicate the same experimental protocol, increasing the robustness and generalizability of the results. A highly valuable element of our meta-analysis is its transparency: data and codes of the statistical analyses have been made publicly accessible, allowing other researchers to verify the results and use them as a starting point for future research," concludes Gianmarco Altoè, author of the research and professor at the Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology at the University of Padua.
