Previous research reports examining the relationship between attitudes toward dying, death, and involvement in death-related occupations have provided mixed findings as no clear pattern has been identified. Examination of the relationship between attitudes toward dying, death, and recreational activity has not received much attention. The current study examined attitudes toward dying and death of older men categorized into four groups defined by recreational activities. The groups included skydivers (high death risk), nursing home residents (high death exposure), volunteer firefighters (high death risk and high death exposure), and a control group. The analyses found that skydivers reported the least fear of death, while nursing home residents reported the highest level. In addition, skydivers and firefighters had higher death acceptance scores than nursing home residents and the control group for the confrontation dimension, whereas skydivers had higher death acceptance scores than all groups, and firefighters were more accepting of death than nursing home residents for the integration dimension.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlexanderM., & LesterD. (1972). Fear of death in parachute jumpers. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 34, 338.
2.
AzaizaF.RonP.ShohamM., & Tinsky-RoimiT. (2011). Death and dying anxiety among bereaved and nonbereaved elderly parents. Death Studies, 35, 610–624.
3.
BozoO.TuncaA., & SimsekY. (2009). The effect of death anxiety and age on health-promoting behaviors: A terror management theory perspective. The Journal of Psychology, 143, 377–389.
4.
DattelA. R., & NeimeyerR. A. (1990). Sex differences in death anxiety: Testing the emotion expressiveness hypothesis. Death Studies, 14, 1–11.
5.
DePaolaS. J.GriffinM.YoungJ. R., & NeimeyerR. A. (2003). Death anxiety and attitudes toward the elderly among older adults: The role of gender and ethnicity. Death Studies, 27, 335–354.
6.
DePaolaS. J.NeimeyerR. A.LupferM. B., & FiedlerJ. (1992). Death concern and attitudes toward the elderly in nursing home personnel. Death Studies, 16, 537–555.
7.
FeifelH., & NagyV. (1980). Death orientation and life threatening behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89, 38–45.
8.
FeifelH., & NagyV. (1981). Another look at fear of death. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 278–286.
9.
FolkmanS., & LazarusR. S. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: Study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 150–170.
10.
FordR. E.AlexanderM., & LesterD. (1971). Fear of death of those in a high stress occupation. Psychological Reports, 29, 502.
11.
FortnerB. V., & NeimeyerR. A. (1999). Death anxiety in older adults: A quantitative review. Death Studies, 23, 387–411.
12.
GrantA., & Wade-BenzoniK. (2009). The hot and cool of death awareness at work: Mortality cues, aging, and self-protective and prosocial motivations. Academy of Management Review, 34, 600–622.
13.
GriffithJ. D., & HartC. L. (2002). A summary of U.S. skydiving fatalities: 1993–1999. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 94, 1089–1090.
14.
GriffithJ. D., & HartC. L. (2005). Collegiate skydivers: Do they fear death?Journal of Worry and Affective Experience, 1(2), 71–76.
15.
HuntD. M.LesterD., & AshtonN. (1983). Fear of death, locus of control, and occupation. Psychological Reports, 53, 1022.
16.
KaneA. C., & HoganJ. D. (1985). Death anxiety in physicians: Defensive style, medical specialty, and exposure to death. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 16, 11–22.
17.
KastenbaumR. (1992). Death, suicide and the older adult. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 22, 1–14.
18.
KlugL., & SinhaA. (1988). Death acceptance: A two component formulation and scale. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 18, 229–235.
19.
LattannerB., & HayslipH. (1984–85). Occupation-related differences in levels of death anxiety. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 15, 53–66.
20.
LaurendeauJ. (2006). “He didn't go in doing a skydive”: Sustaining the illusion of control in an edgework activity. Sociological Perspectives, 49, 583–605.
21.
LesterD., & Abdel-KhalekA. (2003). The Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale: A correction. Death Studies, 27, 81–85.
22.
LesterD.GettyC., & KneislC. (1974). Attitudes of nursing students and nursing faculty toward death. Nursing Research, 23, 50–53.
23.
LewisJ. G.Espe-PfeiferP., & BlairG. (1999–2000). A comparison of death anxiety and denial in death-risk and death-exposure occupations. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 40, 421–434.
24.
MeisenhelderJ. B. (1994). Contributing factor to fear of HIV contagion in registered nurses. Image, 26, 65–69.
25.
NeimeyerR. A.WittkowskiJ., & MoserR. P. (2004). Psychological research on death attitudes: An overview and evaluation. Death Studies, 28, 309–340.
26.
PedersenD. M. (1997). Perceptions of high risk sports. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 85, 756–758.
27.
PollakJ. M. (1979). Correlates of death anxiety: A review of empirical studies. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 10, 97–121.
28.
RobbinsR. A. (1992). Death competency: A study of hospice volunteers. Death Studies, 16, 557–569.
29.
SchraderM. P., & WannD. L. (1999). High-risk recreation: The relationship between participant characteristics and degree of involvement. Journal of Sport Behavior, 22, 426–441.
30.
ThorsonJ. A., & PowellF. C. (1991). Medical students' attitudes towards aging and death: A cross-sequential study. Medical Education, 25, 32–37.
31.
ThorsonJ. A., & PowellF. C. (1996). Undertakers' death anxiety. Psychological Reports, 78, 1228–1230.
32.
TomerA. (Ed.). (2000). Death attitudes and the older adult: Theories, concepts, and applications.Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
33.
WhiteW., & HandalP. J. (1990). The relationship between death anxiety and mental health/distress. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 22, 13–24.
34.
YeaworthR.KappF., & WingetC. (1974). Attitudes of nursing students toward the dying patient. Nursing Research, 23, 20–24.
