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Presentation Type

Open Access Poster Presentation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand college student perceptions of death. Undergraduate students were invited to participate in a focus group about their perceptions of death. Three focus groups were held and a total of nine students participated, all of whom had majors in the social sciences. All participants were women and approximately 55% were non-religious and 55% reported they were spiritual. Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic approach was used to code focus group transcriptions. Three themes were identified: 1) Family and Religious Influences: One participant said, “I think it is less of how religion has shaped how I view death and more of how I view death shaped how I experienced religion.” 2) Amount of Death Exposure. A participant said, “Death is an open topic in my family. The past year I’ve had six deaths.” 3) Death Discussions at School. Students mentioned that death discussions were overlooked in K-12 education. A participant said, “They’re kind of like ‘I feel like that’s your parents' problem.” Findings suggest that family, school, and environment all shape student perceptions of death and that educators may need to be prepared to have discussions with a wide range of experiences in the classroom.

Start Date

14-4-2026 10:00 AM

End Date

14-4-2026 10:50 AM

Faculty Advisor

Melinda Heinz

Student Type

Undergraduate Student

Comments

Award: Intercollegiate Academic Fund (IAF)

File Format

application/pdf

File Size

146 KB

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Additional Files

INSPIRE_2026_Brubaker_College-Perceptions-Death_Handout.pdf (55 kB)
College Student Perceptions of Death Handout

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Apr 14th, 10:00 AM Apr 14th, 10:50 AM

College Student Perceptions of Death

The purpose of this study was to understand college student perceptions of death. Undergraduate students were invited to participate in a focus group about their perceptions of death. Three focus groups were held and a total of nine students participated, all of whom had majors in the social sciences. All participants were women and approximately 55% were non-religious and 55% reported they were spiritual. Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic approach was used to code focus group transcriptions. Three themes were identified: 1) Family and Religious Influences: One participant said, “I think it is less of how religion has shaped how I view death and more of how I view death shaped how I experienced religion.” 2) Amount of Death Exposure. A participant said, “Death is an open topic in my family. The past year I’ve had six deaths.” 3) Death Discussions at School. Students mentioned that death discussions were overlooked in K-12 education. A participant said, “They’re kind of like ‘I feel like that’s your parents' problem.” Findings suggest that family, school, and environment all shape student perceptions of death and that educators may need to be prepared to have discussions with a wide range of experiences in the classroom.