Graduation Semester and Year

2011

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Jared B Kenworthy

Abstract

This research experimentally manipulated death anxiety and examined its effects on social, spiritual, and self-support. Individual level of religiosity was examined as a moderating variable. Various forms of trust were examined as potential mediators of the relationship between death anxiety and sources of support. The participants' ages ranged from 17-48 (M = 22.13 SD = 6.30), including 141 females and 39 males. A marginally significant interaction (p = .09) was found between experimental condition and participant level of religiosity in predicting general support by God, such that intrinsic religiosity predicted general support by God most strongly in the anxiety condition, compared to the mortality salience and control conditions. Trust was not found to be a significant mediator of the link between anxiety and support. This project was the first to combine intrinsic religiosity and a mortality salience manipulation in predicting preferred choices of support.

Disciplines

Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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