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The Relationship of Death

Anxiety with Age and
Psychosocial Maturity
a b
Christina A. Rasmussen & Christiane Brems
a
California School of Professional Psychology, USA
b
Department of Psychology, University of Alaska,
Anchorage, USA
Published online: 02 Jul 2010.

To cite this article: Christina A. Rasmussen & Christiane Brems (1996): The
Relationship of Death Anxiety with Age and Psychosocial Maturity, The Journal of
Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 130:2, 141-144

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1996.9914996

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 The Journal of Psychology, 1996, 130(2), 141-144

The Relationship of Death Anxiety

With Age and Psychosocial Maturity
CHRISTINA A. RASMUSSEN
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California School of Professional Psychology

CHRISTIANE BREMS
Department of Psychology
University of Alaska, Anchorage

ABSTRACT. For this study, 194 respondents completed a biographical data sheet, the
Templer (1970) Death Anxiety Scale and the Constantinople (1 973) Inventory of Psy-
chosocial Development to help assess the relationship among death anxiety, age, and psy-
chosocial maturity. Findings showed that psychosocial maturity was a better predictor of
death anxiety than age was. However, both variables were significantly negatively corre-
lated with death anxiety, revealing that as psychosocial maturity and age increase, death
anxiety decreases.

DEATH, BEING LARGELY BEYOND PERSONAL CONTROL, generates

great concern and anxiety among most human beings (Richardson, Berman, &
Piwowarski, 1983; Schumaker, Barraclough, & Vagg, 1987). However, the level
at which death anxiety is experienced and expressed appears to vary greatly from
individual to individual. Much literature exists that has explored the relationship
of death anxiety to personality traits and other personal variables in an attempt to
identify those that are most strongly related to, and hence possibly predictive of,
death anxiety. Some of these variables have included age (Lonetto & Templer,
1986), belief in an afterlife (Thorson & Powell, 1989). and level of religiosity or
spirituality (Rasmussen & Johnson, in press).
Literature on the relationship between death anxiety and age appears to
demonstrate a moderate inverse relationship. Earlier studies had revealed no con-
sistently significant relationship (cf. McMordie & Kumar, 1984); however, later
studies revealed typical correlations between the two variables that, although
low, were predictably inverse in nature (Dougherty, Templer, & Brown, 1986;
Lonetto & Templer, 1986; Thorson & Powell, 1988).

Address correspondence to Christina A. Rasmussen, California School of Professional

Psychology, Fresno, CA, 93705

141
 I42 The Joiitnid o f ' P.vy/ioh.Jp

A number of variables are indubitably related to aging. but the literature

exploring the relationship between age and death anxiety does little to clarify
whether a potential third variable may account for the relationship (or lack there-
of) between death anxiety and aging. One variable that appears most important
in this regard is level of psychosocial development. However, little research
exists that has explored the correlation between psychosocial development and
death anxiety, although some studies have demonstrated indirectly that there is a
likely relationship (Vargo & Black, 1984).
Lonetto and Templer ( 1986) demonstrated that existential adjustment and
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social adequacy (likely highly correlated with psychosocial maturity) were sig-
nificantly and negatively related to death anxiety. We designed the present study
to further elucidate the relationship among death anxiety, age. and psychosocial
development; we expected to find significant negative correlations.

Method
Participants

Participants were 132 women and 64 men recruited from undergraduate

classes at the University of Alaska and from Anchorage community senior ten-
ters. Ages ranged between 18 and 80, with a mean of 37.96 (SD= 12.8; Mdn =
34). Respondents were reasonably well educated; 20.2% had at least a high
school or equivalent degree, and only I . 1 .% had only a grade school education.
Most respondents had some undergraduate training (62.3%), and 16.5% also had
taken a number of graduate courses. Ethnicity of the sample was representative
of the area: 78.8% of the participants were White. 8.2% were Native American,
3.8% were African American, 2.2% were Asian American, .5% were Hispanic,
and 6.5% did not specify their ethnic background.

Instruments

The Templer Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS; Templer, 1970) is a 15-item

true-false scale measuring respondents' level of preoccupation with issues sur-
rounding death. Scoring is accomplished by summing responses in the direction
of anxiety. with the total score ranging from IOM~anriefy (0)to high anxiety (15).
Templer ( 1970) reported adequate test-retest reliability ( r = .83) and internal
consistency ( r = .76). Adequate concurrent validity has also been demonstrated
(Hamilton, Keilin, Knox, & Naginey, 1989).
The Constantinople Inventory of Psychosocial Development (CIPD; Con-
stantinople, 1973) is a 60-item inventory assessing the Eriksonian stages of psy-
chosocial development. Respondents endorse items on a 7-point Likert-type
scale ranging from definitely uncharacteristic ( 1 ) to definitely characteristic (7).
Six subscales with 10 items each correspond to the first six psychosocial stages
 Rasmussen & Brems 143

of development as presented by Erikson. Scoring is accomplished by first

reverse-scoring items revealing unsuccessful resolution of a relevant psychoso-
cia1 crisis and then summing across the ratings on the 10 items of a given scale.
A global measure of psychosocial maturity is generated by summing the totals of
the six subscales; higher scores reveal higher levels of maturity (Goldman &
Olczak, 1975). The CIPD reportedly has good psychometric properties (Wilson
& Prabucki, 1983).

Procedure
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After giving written informed consent, respondents completed the research

materials, consisting of a demographic data sheet, the TDAS, and the CIPD. The
demographic data sheet was always administered first; the TDAS and the CIPD
followed in random order. Test administration took approximately 15 min and
was accomplished in group settings.

Results
A multiple regression analysis was calculated, using the total psychosocial
maturity score of the CIPD and age as predictors and the total death anxiety score
obtained from the TDAS as the criterion variable. Psychosocial maturity was a
significant predictor, accounting for 6.5% of the variance, p < .0001. Age added
predictive power, accounting for an additional 2.0% of the variance, p < .05. The
direction of the correlation coefficients revealed that as either psychosocial matu-
rity or age increased, death anxiety decreased.

Discussion
Results of this study confirmed the hypothesis that age and psychosocial
maturity are indeed significantly and inversely related to death anxiety. The find-
ing that psychosocial maturity was a stronger predictor than age may help
explain why previous studies have revealed only moderate correlations between
age and death anxiety (cf. Dougherty, Templer, & Brown, 1986; Lonetto & Tem-
pler, 1986). It is possible that age alone cannot account for the decrease in death
anxiety among the elderly. Rather, it may be the combination of aging and the
achievement of greater psychosocial maturity that serves to decrease death anx-
iety.
However, the CIPD measures successful resolution of only the first six Erik-
sonian stages of psychosocial development. It is possible that adding an explo-
ration of the final two stages would enhance the strength of the correlation
between death anxiety and psychosocial maturity. Given that this study suggests
that psychosocial development is a better predictor of death anxiety than age, fur-
ther study in this area is certainly warranted.
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Received F e b r u a p 14. 1995