School of Social Work, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel.
Department of Music, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel; Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel.
Psychiatry Res. 2018 Mar;261:269-273. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.12.078. Epub 2018 Jan 3.
Depression is characterized by a wide range of emotional, cognitive, and physical symptoms. Two prominent features of depressive symptoms are a sense that life has no meaning on the one hand, and that life is not worth living on the other hand. In recent years, the subjective perception of how close one feels to his/her death has gained importance as a significant factor associated with various aspects of physical and psychological well-being. Thus, the current study examined the connection between subjective nearness-to-death, meaning in life, and depressive symptoms, and assessed whether meaning in life mediates the connection between subjective nearness-to-death and depressive symptoms. Data was collected from 268 participants between the ages of 28 and 74 (mean age = 46.75), who completed measures of subjective nearness-to-death, meaning in life, and depressive symptoms. Results yielded a significant positive connection between subjective nearness-to-death and depressive symptoms, as well as a negative connection between meaning in life and depressive symptoms. Moreover, meaning in life was found to mediate the connection between subjective nearness-to-death and depressive symptoms. Findings are discussed in light of the Terror Management Theory, and potential clinical implications are suggested.
抑郁症的特征是广泛的情绪、认知和身体症状。抑郁症状的两个突出特征是一方面觉得生活没有意义，另一方面觉得生活不值得过。近年来，人们越来越重视对死亡的主观感知，因为它是与身心健康各个方面相关的一个重要因素。因此，本研究考察了主观接近死亡、生活意义与抑郁症状之间的联系，并评估了生活意义是否在主观接近死亡与抑郁症状之间起中介作用。数据来自 268 名年龄在 28 岁至 74 岁之间的参与者（平均年龄=46.75 岁），他们完成了主观接近死亡、生活意义和抑郁症状的测量。结果表明，主观接近死亡与抑郁症状之间存在显著的正相关，而生活意义与抑郁症状之间存在显著的负相关。此外，生活意义在主观接近死亡与抑郁症状之间起中介作用。研究结果根据死亡恐惧管理理论进行了讨论，并提出了潜在的临床意义。
