Relationship Between Health Perception And Death Anxiety And Its Mechanism Of Old People

Death anxiety is a series of negative emotions, such as worry, anxiety, fear, which appeared when individual thought death-related concerns. Studies have shown that due to the elderly facing aging, sickness, loneliness and other issues, their death anxiety level is higher. The lower health perception will generate a higher level of death anxiety. Empirical studies show that the meaning of life and optimism can predict death anxiety. Currently, domestic scholars on death anxiety research has just started, and empirical studies are relatively less. Therefore, exploring the relationship of health perception, meaning in life, optimism and death anxiety of the elderly in China is necessary.In this study, 167 elderly people were tested for the initial test, and 281 elderly people were tested for the final test. We used questionnaires to discuss the relationship of the health perception, meaning in life, optimism and death anxiety.The research results were the following:1.The rebuild Health perception Questionnaire and Templer Death Anxiety Scale had high reliability and validity, which were suitable for the use of elderly people.2.Elderly’ health perception was in a better level. The health perception had no significant differences in demographic variables.3.Elderly’ meaning of life had a low level, and had no significant differences in gender and age variables. But different marital status and education status had different meaning of life level. Married people had higher meaning of life, and the people who had higher education level had higher meaning of life.4.Elderly’ optimism was in a better level, and it had no significant differences in gender, age and education level. But married people had a higher overall optimism and positive dimension; they had lower scores on the pessimistic dimension than the divorced, widowed or unmarried people.5.Elderly’ death anxiety was in medium level, and it had no significant differences in gender, age and education level. But the married people’ death anxiety was significantly lower than the divorced, widowed or unmarried people.6.The health perception and its all dimensions had significant positive correlation with meaning in life,overall optimism and positive dimension, but had significant negative correlation with pessimism dimension and death anxiety. The meaning of life and its all dimensions, overall optimism, positive dimension had negative correlation with death anxiety.7.Health perception and its all dimensions had the significant prediction function for meaning of life and its all dimensions, optimism, death anxiety.8.Meaning of life partly mediated the relation between health perception and death anxiety. Optimism moderated the relation between health perception and death anxiety. Optimism moderated the mediating effect caused by meaning of life.