Examining the Influence of Early-Life and Recent Traumatic Events on Loneliness in Centenarians

Early-life traumatic experiences have lasting implications for late-life socio-emotional development, contributing to a greater prevalence of poor mental health in very old age. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of early-life and recent traumatic life experiences on loneliness among centenarians. A total of 154 centenarians participated in a semistructured interview. The time of traumatic occurrence and type of trauma experienced influence loneliness in centenarians. Experiencing a natural disaster 70 or more years ago significantly predicted loneliness. Terror management theory proposes that coming to terms with one’s mortality represents an underlying source of anxiety that can influence human behavior to create both immediate and future defenses. Evidence from this study can be used to improve how aging service practitioners integrate reminiscence or life-review therapy or counseling within clinical or educational settings.

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Anxiety Buffer Disruption: Self-Evaluation, Death Anxiety, and Stressor Appraisals Among Low and High Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Samples

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology ◽

10.1521/jscp.2020.39.5.353 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (5) ◽

pp. 353-382 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Kenneth E. Vail ◽

David E. Reed ◽

Elizabeth A. Goncy ◽

Talea Cornelius ◽

Donald Edmondson

Keyword(s):

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Death Anxiety ◽

Terror Management Theory ◽

Terror Management ◽

Well Being ◽

Traumatic Experiences ◽

Existential Anxiety ◽

Self Evaluation ◽

Symptom Screening ◽

High Death

Objective: Research driven by terror management theory suggests sociocultural anxiety-buffer systems typically protect against existential anxiety, whereas anxiety buffer disruption theory suggests traumatic experiences may disrupt that process. Method: Following posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptom screening (n = 4097), individuals with low (n = 149) and high (n = 120) PTS engaged in either negative or positive self-evaluations, then reported death anxiety and appraised life's stressors as negative/threatening or positive/challenging. Results: When low PTS participants contemplated their worst (vs. best) selves, they experienced moderately heightened death anxiety yet appraised life's stressors as more positive/challenging than harmful/threatening, reflecting effective existential anxiety buffers. However, high PTS participants reported high death anxiety in both the best-self and worst-self conditions—indicating anxiety buffer disruption—and the worst-self (vs. best self) prompt increased their appraisal of life's stresses as a harmful threat and decreased appraisal as positive/challenging opportunities for growth and well-being. Discussion: Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

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Media Psychology and Complex Modes of Entertainment Experiences

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105/a000030 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 34-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Christoph Klimmt

Keyword(s):

Empirical Studies ◽

Terror Management Theory ◽

Death And Dying ◽

Terror Management ◽

Media Psychology ◽

Mixed Emotions ◽

Theoretical Perspectives ◽

Complex Modes ◽

History Of ◽

Media Enjoyment

This comment briefly examines the history of entertainment research in media psychology and welcomes the conceptual innovations in the contribution by Oliver and Bartsch (this issue). Theoretical perspectives for improving and expanding the “appreciation” concept in entertainment psychology are outlined. These refer to more systematic links of appreciation to the psychology of mixed emotions, to positive psychology, and to the psychology of death and dying – in particular, to terror management theory. In addition, methodological challenges are discussed that entertainment research faces when appreciation and the experience of “meaning for life” need to be addressed in empirical studies of media enjoyment.

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Dying to Watch

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105/a000079 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 55-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Laramie D. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Terror Management Theory ◽

Terror Management ◽

Management Theory ◽

Media Content ◽

Sexual Content ◽

Entertainment Media ◽

Sexual Values ◽

Television Shows ◽

Sexual Cognitions ◽

Sexual Media

Research has shown that thoughts about death influence sexual cognitions and some media choices. The present study tested the hypothesis that thoughts about death may affect individuals’ tendency to select or avoid entertainment media programming containing sexual material. In two experiments, thoughts about death (mortality salience [MS]) were manipulated before college undergraduates expressed interest in viewing television shows and movies with varying amounts of sexual content. In both studies, MS was associated with greater overall interest in sexual media content. Although terror management theory would indicate that sexual worldview should moderate this effect, this was not observed to be the case. In addition, MS was not found to affect interest in other types of highly engaging media content including violent and dramatic content. Limitations regarding generalizability are discussed. Results suggest that MS increases a preference for sexual media content, and that this occurs for individuals with diverse sexual values systems. This is discussed in terms of implications for terror management theory and cognitive models of media influence.

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When Death Is Compelling

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000252 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 46 (6) ◽

pp. 352-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Simon Schindler ◽

Marc-André Reinhard

Keyword(s):

Terror Management Theory ◽

Mortality Salience ◽

Terror Management ◽

Management Theory ◽

Control Group ◽

Norms And Values ◽

Hypothetical Scenario ◽

The Face ◽

Scenario Study ◽

Norm Of Reciprocity

Abstract. Research on terror management theory has found evidence that people under mortality salience strive to live up to activated social norms and values. Recently, research has shown that mortality salience also increases adherence to the norm of reciprocity. Based on this, in the current paper we investigated the idea that mortality salience influences persuasion strategies that are based on the norm of reciprocity. We therefore assume that mortality salience should enhance compliance for a request when using the door-in-the-face technique – a persuasion strategy grounded in the norm of reciprocity. In a hypothetical scenario (Study 1), and in a field experiment (Study 2), applying the door-in-the-face technique enhanced compliance in the mortality salience condition compared to a control group.

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