Honors Program Theses

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Open Access Honors Program Thesis

First Advisor

Ashleigh Kysar-Moon, Honors Thesis Advisor

Keywords

Death--Public opinion--Sex differences; Death--Public opinion--Religious aspects; Death--Public opinion;

Abstract

Death is a social and biological reality that affects everyone.However,the effects of death are not uniform. Data for this study were collected from a convenience sample (N=322) through an online survey distributed through social media and email (January and February 2021). The survey utilizes the Death Attitudes Profile –Revised by Wong, Reker, and Gesser (1994) to investigate differences in death attitudes across different demographics including age, gender, and religion. Results show correlations between positive, neutral, and negative death attitudes and the age of respondents, suggesting that negative death attitudes decrease as one ages, and certain types of positive attitudes increase. Additionally, specific forms of death acceptance were found to be associated with gender and religion. These significant results imply that perspectives on death differ across these identities. It is vital to understand these differences so mental health care and end-of-life care can adequately support and serve different populations. Potential explanations for these findings and future research recommendations are discussed.

Year of Submission

2021

Department

Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Date Original

5-2021

Object Description

1 PDF file (35 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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