Citation

Juhl J, Routledge CD. Death Stud. 2014; 38(1): 62-68.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology , North Dakota State University , Fargo , North Dakota , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07481187.2012.718038

PMID

24521047

Abstract

Terror management theory asserts that attaining self-esteem by adhering to the standards of meaning-providing worldviews helps manage death concerns. Research has shown that mortality salience (MS) increases worldview defense, however, there are conflicting results concerning how trait self-esteem moderates this effect. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that MS increases worldview defense for high, but not low, trait self-esteem individuals. These studies raised the question as to whether those with low trait self-esteem engage in efforts to find meaning in response to MS. Study 3 showed that MS increased the search for meaning for low, but not high, trait self-esteem individuals.

Language: en