Fear of Death and Death Acceptance Among Bereaved Adults: Associations With Prolonged Grief

This study aimed to analyze fear of death and neutral acceptance of death after a significant loss and their associations with prolonged grief. The sample of the study included 239 bereaved participants. Time since the loss ranged from 6 to 72 months. We found that neutral acceptance of death was associated with older age, a natural cause of death, and the ability to find meaning in the death of a close one. Fear of death was negatively associated with the frequency of practicing religion. We found that fear of death but not neutral acceptance was significantly associated with prolonged grief symptoms.