Life Regrets and Death Attitudes in College Students

Abstract

The relationship between death attitudes and life regret was examined in college students. Two types of regret, past-related regret and future-related regret, were defined and measured. The results confirmed the hypothesis, based on a comprehensive model of death anxiety, that both types of regret independently predict fear and avoidance of death. Other background and self variables may affect death anxiety, usually indirectly, by influencing the two types of regret. Death acceptance, on the other hand, was found to be influenced directly by intrinsic religious motivation and indirectly by other background and self variables.