The Relationship Between Attachment Styles with Death anxiety in the Old people: The Mediating Role of Reminiscence Styles

Entering the stage of old age, in addition to physical difficulties, brings psychological challenges such as death anxiety. Understanding the factors influencing death anxiety is therefore not only a psychological necessity but also an ethical and therapeutic requirement for designing targeted intervention protocols. Accordingly, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between attachment styles and death anxiety through the mediating role of reminiscence styles in older adults. The research design was correlational, using structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all older adults aged 65 and above in Kermanshah city, from whom a sample of … participants was selected through convenience sampling. The participants completed the Collins and Read Adult Attachment Questionnaire, the Templer Death Anxiety Scale, and the Reminiscence Styles Questionnaire developed by Amani and colleagues. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that the proposed model demonstrated a good fit with the data. Specifically, secure attachment style showed a positive direct relationship with positive reminiscence and a negative direct relationship with negative reminiscence. Avoidant and ambivalent attachment styles were positively and directly related only to negative reminiscence. Furthermore, positive reminiscence was negatively and directly associated with death anxiety, while negative reminiscence was positively and directly associated with death anxiety. In addition, secure attachment style demonstrated an indirect relationship with death anxiety through both positive and negative reminiscence, whereas avoidant and ambivalent attachment styles showed indirect relationships with death anxiety only through negative reminiscence.