Religious Faith and Death Obsession: A Serial Mediation Model of Resilient Mindset, Resilience, Presence of Meaning in Life, and Self-Esteem in Türkiye

Omega (Westport). 2026 May 27:302228261455640. doi: 10.1177/00302228261455640. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Death obsession is a common phenomenon in many societies. Adults may be more susceptible to death obsession compared to children and adolescents. However, death obsession in adults is not yet fully understood. This study investigates the relationship between religious faith, resilient mindset, resilience, presence of meaning in life, self-esteem, and death obsession in adults in Türkiye. This study was conducted with a total of 769 participants (M_age = 22.29, SD = 5.09). The results show that death obsession is negatively correlated to religious faith, resilient mindset, resilience, presence of meaning in life, and self-esteem. Mediation analysis has shown that resilient mindset, resilience, presence of meaning in life, and self-esteem mediate the relationship between religious faith and death obsession. All these findings have been discussed considering Terror Management Theory (TMT), and potential implications have been suggested.

PMID:42200381 | DOI:10.1177/00302228261455640