Death anxiety, self-worth, and exposure to human donor remains: A longitudinal study of Irish medical students.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between death anxiety levels at pre-exposure to human donor remains, post-exposure self-worth, and post-exposure death anxiety levels, among a sample of Irish medical students. A multi-wave prospective study was conducted, using questionnaires administered at six time-points. Path analysis was used to investigate the effect of pre-exposure death anxiety levels and post-exposure self-worth on post-exposure death anxiety levels. Baseline death anxiety was found to predict post-exposure death anxiety. Furthermore, self-worth at one month of exposure was found to mediate the relationship between pre-exposure death anxiety levels and death anxiety levels at six months.