Fear of personal death in adulthood: the impact of early and recent losses.

This study examines the association between the loss of significant others and fear of personal death in adulthood. The sample consisted of a group of 86 Israeli adults who had experienced a significant loss in childhood or adolescence and a matched group of 86 subjects who had not experienced any early loss. Participants in each group were further divided according to the experience of a significant loss during the previous 2 years and completed a multidimensional scale measuring fear of personal death. Whereas early loss was positively related to the interpersonal component of fear of death, recent loss was positively related to the intrapersonal and transpersonal components of this fear. These associations were found to be moderated by the identity of the lost person, the age of the subject at the time of the early loss, and the subject's gender. The discussion emphasizes the complexity of the meanings and antecedents of fear of death in adulthood.