Racing against time: A qualitative study on death anxiety and thanatophobia among women who become mothers at an advanced age

Dinç Kaya H., Mantarcı S.

Death Studies, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2659890
  • Dergi Adı: Death Studies
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, CINAHL, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), MEDLINE, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Religion and Philosophy Collection, Violence & Abuse Abstracts, Social Sciences Abstracts
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study explores death-related anxiety experiences of women who become mothers at an advanced age, with particular attention to thanatophobia and its existential dimensions. Using an exploratory phenomenological design, 11 participants were interviewed via an online platform until data saturation was reached. Systematic analysis of interview transcripts revealed three main themes: being a mother at an advanced age, fear/anxiety of death, and overcoming the fear of death. Participants’ death-related anxiety was multifaceted, encompassing concerns about their own mortality, the dying process, and their children’s future in their absence—constructs more accurately framed as thanatophobia or death anxiety than a simple fear of a known object. Healthcare professionals’ high-risk labeling emerged as a significant amplifier of this anxiety. As a small-scale, exploratory, context-specific study, findings should be interpreted as preliminary and hypothesis-generating rather than definitive.