The Effects of Death Education on Death Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This study used meta-analytic procedures to examine sixty-two outcome research investigations of the effects of death education on death anxiety. An overall mean effect size of .287 suggests that participants who completed death education interventions reported higher death anxiety than did members of no-treatment control conditions. Didactic death education interventions were found to produce significantly greater increases in death anxiety than experiential interventions. Contrary to earlier research, death education does not appear to be an effective means of lowering death anxiety. These results provide a basis for practical recommendation in altering and shifting the focus and composition of death education.