We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Death Anxiety and Sexual Risk-Taking: Different Manifestations of the Process of Defense.
- Authors
Ford, Gary G.; Ewing, Jennifer J.; Ford, Angela M.; Ferguson, Nikki L.; Sherman, Wendy Y.
- Abstract
College students (n = 162) completed measures of death anxiety and sexual risk-taking, with a thought listing procedure in-between. Those who completed the death anxiety measure first (Death Salient condition) reported greater willingness to engage in high-risk sexual behavior than the Non-Death Salient group. This result was consistent with the hypothesis that evoking death anxiety would produce denial-based defensive activity. Also, Death Salient participants reporting more death thoughts were lower on risk-taking, as predicted. Interestingly, Death Salient participants reporting stressful thoughts about issues unrelated to personal mortality (displacement) were also less willing to engage in high-risk sexual behavior. The results are discussed in relation to a new, avowal-based model of the process of psychological defense.
- Subjects
DEATH; ANXIETY; MORTALITY; SEXUAL psychology; COLLEGE students
- Publication
Current Psychology, 2004, Vol 23, Issue 2, p147
- ISSN
1046-1310
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/BF02903075