How thinking about death affects depression and anxiety
Death Anxiety: Implications for Depression and Anxiety - An Experimental Study
This test will see if a short writing exercise about your own death increases death anxiety and raises depression and anxiety symptoms in adults who can come to the lab in Cluj-Napoca.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 128 (estimated) |
| Ages | 18 Years to 65 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Babes-Bolyai University Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Cluj-Napoca) |
| Trial ID | NCT07201480 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
Adults will complete baseline questionnaires and then be randomly assigned, while blind to condition, to either a mortality salience writing task or a dental pain writing task as a control. Two weeks after the baseline measures, participants will come to the lab and complete the assigned pen-and-paper prompts designed to make thoughts of death or dental pain more salient. Changes in death anxiety, depression, and anxiety symptoms will be measured after the task to compare the experimental and control groups. People with psychotic or personality disorder diagnoses or current suicidal ideation are excluded from participation.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Adults aged 18 or older who live in or can travel to Cluj-Napoca and who do not have a psychotic disorder, personality disorder, or current suicidal ideation.
Not a fit: People with a diagnosed psychotic disorder, a personality disorder, current suicidal ideation, or those unable to attend the in-person lab visit are unlikely to benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to death anxiety as a target for interventions that help reduce depression and anxiety.
How similar studies have performed: Prior mortality salience experiments reliably provoke existential anxiety and defensive responses, but evidence is mixed on whether they cause sustained increases in clinical depression or anxiety symptoms.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Age over 18 years. * Living in Cluj-Napoca (or otherwise willing and able to participate in the lab task) Exclusion Criteria: * Personality disorder diagnosis * Psychotic disorder diagnosis * Suicidal ideation
Where this trial is running
Cluj-Napoca
- Babes Bolyai University — Cluj-Napoca, Romania (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Roxana Cardoș, PhD
- Email: roxanaoltean@psychology.ro
- Phone: 0040751477323
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.