NCJ Number
214979
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 303-310
Date Published
June 2006
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined the presence and effects of "existential anxiety" (apprehension about the significance/meaning of life and death) in a sample of 139 youth in grades 9-12.
Abstract
The findings of this study are consistent with the concept that worrying about finding appropriate life roles, goals, and values may lead to deeper concerns about the meaning of life and death. Commitment to establishing an identity may reflect an effort to protect oneself from existential anxiety. The study found that levels of existential anxiety were evenly distributed across the sample, thus providing initial support for the assessment of existential anxiety as conceptualized in Paul Tillich's model and its relevance to depression and anxiety. Although the prevalence of concerns that stem from existential anxiety suggests that such apprehension about the significance of one's life and vulnerability to death may be normative among adolescents, findings also suggest that highly elevated existential anxiety may be linked to problematic levels of depression. Existential apprehension may influence the development of depressive and anxiety disorders by fostering maladaptive negative thinking about self, the future, and the world. Participants were recruited from psychology classes of a high school in East-Central Florida. They completed the Existential Anxiety Questionnaire (EAQ), which is a true-false rating scale designed to assess the domains and subconcepts of Tillich's concept of existential anxiety. Participants also completed a demographic questionnaire, the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ), and the Brief Symptom Inventory. The EIPQ measures identity exploration and identity commitment, and the Brief Symptom Inventory assess psychological symptoms. 2 tables and 39 references