Date of Graduation
Spring 2018
Degree
Master of Science in Psychology
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Erin Buchanan
Abstract
Anxiety buffer disruption theory (ABDT) is an application of terror management theory to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ABDT predicts that posttraumatic stress reactions occur when buffers of awareness of death, such as meaning in life, self-esteem, and social intimacy, fail to suppress overwhelming death-anxiety. The author suggested that generativity may also serve as an effective buffer of awareness of death. The present study investigated the presence of anxiety buffering disruption in first responders with PTSD via a mediation path model of self-report measures of PTSD symptoms, anxiety buffer variables, and death-though accessibility. While results indicate PTSD symptoms have a small relation to increased awareness of death, results indicate anxiety buffering variables account for an insignificant portion of the relation between PTSD symptoms and awareness of death. Nonetheless, generativity and meaning in life, self-esteem, and social support are significant predictors of lower levels of PTSD.
Keywords
posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD, generativity, anxiety buffer disruption theory, terror management, first responders
Subject Categories
Clinical Psychology | Theory and Philosophy
Copyright
© David Joseph Herr
Recommended Citation
Herr, David Joseph, "Generativity and Other Buffers of Death Awareness in First Responders with PTSD" (2018). MSU Graduate Theses. 3277.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3277
