Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2007. / "Graduate Program in Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-103).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2004. / Bibliography: leaves 67-70.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Mar. 6, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 36-42).

Previous research, as well as theory, has supported the existence of a relationship between death anxiety and loneliness in older adults but a causal examination has not been possible until now. A hypothesized model was developed which states that loneliness will lead to death anxiety mediated by cultural worldview. Longitudinal data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling in order to more fully explore this potentially causal relationship. The primary model was supported suggesting that loneliness can lead to death anxiety as mediated by cultural worldview. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Most of the research relating to children and death has been psychological or psychoanalytic in nature and has employed case studies or projective methodology. This study utilized a sociological perspective and was aimed at discovering the socialization processes that shape children's attitudes in this area of inquiry. The children's attitudes were examined in terms of four variables, their definitions of death, the relationship of age and death, their reaction to self-destruction and the destruction of others, and the affects of the media on them. Findings from this study of twenty-five children provided further support for the contention that attitudes are the result of learning experiences, i.e., socialization, involving significant others. For the most part, the children's responses were reflections of dominant social values and might therefore be considered the result of socializing factors.

Volunteers from churches in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area participated in a 10 to 12 hour experiential death education workshop. The program emphasized basic communication skills in exploring death and dying issues. Satir’s communication patterns were used in a simulated family planning event; participants were encouraged to write in a journal after each exercise; directed fantasy explored the development in life of the individual's way of coping with loss; a role play used birth order and it's effects when a parent has a terminal illness; and guided imagery was used to explore the participant's death and funeral. The workshop did not lower death anxiety in the 17 females and six males (aged 35-66) who participated. There was no significant difference when comparison was made on the pre- and post-Templer Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS) change scores between those participants in the program and the control group, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Northern Virginia Graduate Center students, who did not participate. Mean scores on TDAS were within the normal range of means for subjects established by Templer and Ruff. Participants stated that interactions which facilitated a self-discovery process had met a need for them / M.S.

Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2003. / Includes abstract and vita. Translated from Korean. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-193).

Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2003. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-193).

Ninety college students served as subjects in research to investigate possible relationships between fear of death, religious doubt, and child-rearing practices. The following hypotheses were tested: 1) contingent childrearing practices would correlate negatively with religious doubt, 2) religious doubt would correlate positively with fear of death, and 3) contingent child-rearing practices would correlate negatively with fear of death. The second hypothesis was supported. Additional analyses revealed that those who changed religious preference from childhood to the present had lower fear of death scores than those who retained the same beliefs. The sample was also divided into religious and nonreligious groups. The religious group as a whole and religious females were found to have scored significantly higher on paternal contingent punishment. Religious individuals in the total sample also scored significantly higher on parental contingent punishment.

Lucretius’ symmetry argument is always understood as a simple addition to Epicurus’ deprivation argument. Both are based on same presuppositions and both are referring to the state of being dead. However, by closer examination, we can see that they are using different perspectives. The symmetry argument adopts a first-person perspective, whereas the deprivation argument adopts a third-person perspective. According to this difference, it can be further inferred that the symmetry argument actually provides a very important supplemental argument for the deprivation argument by trying to bridge the potential gap in the deprivation argument.