A time to be born and a time to die: Exploring the determinants of death anxiety among university students in a western Canadian city

ABSTRACT

Using data collected from a questionnaire survey of 501 university students in a western Canadian city, this article explores the death anxiety among young adults and the factors influencing their levels of death anxiety. Results demonstrated that respondents displayed a moderate level of death anxiety. Multiple regression analysis further revealed that females, non-Caucasians and those who demonstrated to be less religious, indicated a higher level of loneliness, scored lower on the purpose in life scale, expressed dissatisfaction with their self-image, and reported a higher socio-economic status were found to exhibit a higher level of death anxiety.

Acknowledgments

This study was conducted under the auspices of the Department of Sociology and Social Studies at the University of Regina. A considerable debt is owed to Theresa Bigayan, Tara Busch, Barbara Cabrera, Joshua Freistadt, Susan Hanna, Susan Keys, Kelly-Ann McLeod, Dale Partridge, Christall Paul, Theresa Pinay, Shelley Skelding, Hiroko Sugimoto, Jennifer Youck, and Greg Young for their research assistance, and to Yau-tsang Chan, Angel Chow, Christie Chow, Christopher Chow, Simon Kwan, Sutton Cheung, Stephen Tam, Bosco Li, Chap Wong, and Thomson Yu for their unwavering support.