Young adults who fear rejection also tend to fear death more, psychology study finds
Young adults who worry about rejection tend to fear death more, a study of 640 Italians found. That fear was tied to more anxiety and related symptoms, but mainly among those who see death as final.
The study, published in Scientific Reports, found that young adults who fear rejection in close relationships also tend to have a greater fear of death, which is associated with increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other forms of distress. The relationship between death anxiety and internalizing symptoms depends on whether a person views death as a complete end or a transition to another state.
Researchers from the University of Parma in Italy studied 640 Italian young adults aged 18 to 22, with an average age of about 20.5 years. Participants were predominantly female (83.4 percent) and mostly students (62.7 percent) or working students (28.8 percent). The research, led by Alessandro Musetti, an associate professor of dynamic psychology, explored how attachment styles and existential beliefs about death influenced mental health symptoms.
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