Death Anxiety, Depression and Anxiety: An Experimental Study

NCT07201480 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 430/ 30.04.2024
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 128
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this experimental study is to investigate the transdiagnostic role of death anxiety in depression and anxiety symptoms in participants from the general population. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. 1.Does the mortality salience task induce death anxiety?
2. 2.Does the experimental group present an increase in depression and anxiety symptoms following the mortality salience task?
3. 3."Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of your own death arouses in you."
4. 4."Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you physically as you die and once you are physically dead."
5. 5."Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of dental pain arouses in you."
6. 6."Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think happens to you physically as you experience dental pain and once you have physically experienced dental pain."

Conditions

Death Anxiety; Depression; Anxiety

Keywords

death anxiety; depression; anxiety; transdiagnostic

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Collet-Lester Fear of Death Scale - Revised (CLFD-R)

  The Revised version of the Collet-Lester Fear of Death Scale (CLFD-R) is a validated self-report instrument assessing fear and anxiety in regards to death and dying. The scale is comprised of 32 items that are answered from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much) Possible scores range from 32 to 160. Higher scores indicate worse death anxiety.

  Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• The Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 7

  Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)

• Patient Health Questionnaire - 9

  Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)

• State and Trait Anxiety Inventory - State subscale

  Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)

Study Arms (2)

Mortality Primed

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will be instructed to answer two questions that are meant to bring to awareness thoughts about their mortality: "Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of your death arouses in you." and "Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you physically as you die and once you are physically dead."

Behavioral: Mortality Salience Prompts

Dental Pain Primed

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Participants in this arm will be instructed to answer two questions that may bring to mind thoughts and memories of dental pain: "Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of dental pain arouses in you." and "Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think happens to you physically as you experience dental pain and once you have physically experienced dental pain."

Behavioral: Dental Pain Prompts

Interventions

Mortality Salience Prompts BEHAVIORAL

This intervention implies giving two prompts to participants, in a written format, while asking them to write out answers to the given prompts. The first prompt is: "Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of your death arouses in you." The second prompt is "Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you physically as you die and once you are physically dead."

Mortality Primed

Dental Pain Prompts BEHAVIORAL

This intervention implies giving two prompts to participants, and requesting that participants write out their answers to these prompts. The first prompt is: "Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of dental pain arouses in you." The second prompt is: "Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think happens to you physically as you experience dental pain and once you have physically experienced dental pain."

Dental Pain Primed

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age over 18 years.
• Living in Cluj-Napoca (or otherwise willing and able to participate in the lab task)

You may not qualify if:

• Personality disorder diagnosis
• Psychotic disorder diagnosis
• Suicidal ideation

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Babes-Bolyai University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Babes Bolyai University

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Necrophobia; Depression; Anxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Mental Disorders

Central Study Contacts

Roxana Cardoș, PhD

CONTACT

0040751477323; roxanaoltean@psychology.ro

Arnold C. Kun

CONTACT

0040751216916; kun.arnold.cristian@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PhD

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 12, 2025
• First Posted: October 1, 2025
• Study Start: March 1, 2025
• Primary Completion: December 30, 2025
• Study Completion: January 1, 2026
• Last Updated: October 1, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
• Time Frame: The IPD may be shared after publication upon request, with no end date.

Locations

RO (1)