Death Anxiety, Depression and Anxiety: An Experimental Study

September 23, 2025 updated by: Roxana Cardos, Babes-Bolyai University

Death Anxiety: Implications for Depression and Anxiety - An Experimental Study

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. Does the mortality salience task induce death anxiety?
  2. Does the experimental group present an increase in depression and anxiety symptoms following the mortality salience task?

The investigators will compare the experimental condition to a control condition to see if the death anxiety induction is responsible for the expected increase in depression and anxiety symptoms.

The mortality salience prompt will be asking participants to elaborate on their thoughts and feelings surrounding death and dying, including what they think happens during death. The dental pain prompt will ask participants to do the same, only in regards to the thought of having dental pain.

Experimental group: participants will undergo a pen-and-paper writing task where they will be asked to answer two questions:

  1. "Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of your own death arouses in you."
  2. "Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you physically as you die and once you are physically dead."

Control group:

  1. "Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of dental pain arouses in you."
  2. "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."

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of death anxiety as a transdiagnostic factor in psychopathology. In this particular study, the investigators will examine whether increases in death anxiety - brought about by increasing the salience of death by use of a mortality salience prime lead to increases in levels of depression and anxiety.

Participants will provide their informed consent and will proceed to complete the measures of the study (pretest). Eligible participants will be randomly allocated to either the mortality salience group (experimental group), or the dental pain group (the control group). Participants will be blind to group allocation.

Two weeks after completing the pretest measures, the participants will come to the lab and undergo the experimental tasks, depending on the condition that they have been allocated to.

Experimental group: participants will undergo a pen-and-paper writing task where they will be asked to answer two questions

  1. Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of your own death arouses in you.
  2. Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you physically as you die and once you are physically dead.

Control group: participants will undergo a pen-and-paper writing task where they will be asked to answer two questions

  1. Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of dental pain arouses in you.
  2. 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.

After the prime, participants will complete a distractor task, during which they will be asked to read a short, emotionally neutral text - a bogus scientific article, estimated to be a 5 minute read - and answer questions based on this text. Participants will be told that this task is done in order to assess text comprehension abilities. After completing the distractor task, participants will complete the study measures the second time (posttest).

Upon study completion, all participants will be debriefed in the lab, and the real purpose of the study will be explained to them.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
128

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

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

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Mortality Primed
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
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."
Placebo Comparator: Dental Pain Primed
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
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."

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Collet-Lester Fear of Death Scale - Revised (CLFD-R)
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)
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 Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 7
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7) is a validated self-report instrument that measures symptoms of generalized anxiety. It consists of 7 items rated on a 4-point scale from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). Total scores range from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate worse anxiety symptoms.
Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)
Patient Health Questionnaire - 9
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a validated self-report instrument assessing symptoms of depression. It consists of 9 items, each rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (almost every day). Total scores range from 0 to 27. Higher scores indicate worse depression symptoms.
Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)
State and Trait Anxiety Inventory - State subscale
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)
The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is a validated self-report instrument assessing both state and trait anxiety. In this case, the State Anxiety subscale will be used, which is comprised of 20 items, each rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much so). Possible scores range from 20 to 80. Higher score indicate higher state anxiety levels.
Baseline (Day 1), After the experimental task (Day 14)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Babes-Bolyai University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 30, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 12, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 23, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 1, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 1, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 23, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 430/ 30.04.2024

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Will share IPD used in the results of the publication, upon request.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

The IPD may be shared after publication upon request, with no end date.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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