Work

Death attitudes and good life experience: the mediation and suppression effects of intrinsic and extrinsic goals

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study employs Heidegger's philosophy, Goal Content Theory, and Terror Management Theory to investigate the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic goals in the relationship between death attitudes (neutral acceptance vs. death anxiety) and the good life experience. Analyzing nationally representative data from the Chinese Social Mentality Survey (N=10,195), structural equation models revealed three key findings: (1) Neutral acceptance positively correlated with the good life experience, whereas death anxiety demonstrated negative associations; (2) In the primary conceptual model (Model 1), intrinsic goals mediated while extrinsic goals suppressed the relationship between the death attitudes and the good life experience; (3) Further model validation indicated that consistent suppression effects of extrinsic goals in national stability (Model 2) and personal richness (Model 4) frameworks, with distinctive dual mediation emerging in family happiness (Model 3). Notably, the personal richness model (Model 4) showed non-significant total effects despite preserved mediation patterns. These results advance existential psychology by elucidating culture-specific mechanisms through which death attitudes influences well-being in Chinese populations, while providing empirical validation and theoretical refinement of Goal Content Theory's cross-cultural applicability.

Source: Frontiers in Psychiatry

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1567600

Authors: Yuanyuan Wang, Fuhua Pei, Yisheng Yang, Junxiu Wang

Institutions: Qufu Normal University, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Wenzhou Medical University

Language: English

Topic: Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801