Death thoughts predict increased depression for those with low self-worth
Death thoughts predict increased depression for those with low self-worth
Terror management theory specifies that a sense of self-worth is necessary to prevent the awareness of death from undermining psychological well-being. We tested the theory’s claims about well-being within the context of depression, by measuring self-worth, death-thought accessibility, and depression in an online study (N = 365). Consistent with the theory, death-thought accessibility predicted increased depression, but only among those with low, not high, self-worth. Our findings support existential clinical theorists’ claims for psychological therapies to appreciate the underlying reasons for the need for self-worth.
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Fairlamb, Samuel
73d5f130-fa03-4429-b029-fb32a45ffaaa
Juhl, Jacob
1c3b38b1-ba9e-4f3c-8520-ebca3b712fa2
Fairlamb, Samuel
73d5f130-fa03-4429-b029-fb32a45ffaaa
Juhl, Jacob
1c3b38b1-ba9e-4f3c-8520-ebca3b712fa2
Fairlamb, Samuel and Juhl, Jacob
(2020)
Death thoughts predict increased depression for those with low self-worth.
Death Studies, .
(doi:10.1080/07481187.2020.1793432).
Abstract
Terror management theory specifies that a sense of self-worth is necessary to prevent the awareness of death from undermining psychological well-being. We tested the theory’s claims about well-being within the context of depression, by measuring self-worth, death-thought accessibility, and depression in an online study (N = 365). Consistent with the theory, death-thought accessibility predicted increased depression, but only among those with low, not high, self-worth. Our findings support existential clinical theorists’ claims for psychological therapies to appreciate the underlying reasons for the need for self-worth.
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Fairlamb and Juhl (Accepted Version)
- Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 30 June 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 16 July 2020
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© 2020, © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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Local EPrints ID: 443129
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/443129
ISSN: 0748-1187
PURE UUID: 942b5618-b1ac-4510-9647-5361a2c0693b
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Date deposited: 11 Aug 2020 16:34
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:48
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Author:
Samuel Fairlamb
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