Gender differences in attitudes toward death among Chinese university students: A survey in hunan and Heilongjiang province

Background A positive attitude toward death has significant implications for college students, and can help students establish a healthy concept of life. But most colleges and universities in Mainland China have not yet carried out systematic death education courses. Objective This study aims to explore the attitudes of college age students to determine how they approach the idea of death using questions that explore five separate dimensions of attitude and belief. Methods We invited students from seven colleges in Mainland China using invitations sent to each year’s WeChat group. Students participated by scanning a QR code, and were then directed to a website that contained a self-administered questionnaire. We received 1,206 completed interviews. Results We found evidence of a substantial gender difference in attitudes toward death. These differences remain after adjustment for differences between male and female in other correlates of death attitudes, and are not a function of gender differences in the dimensionality of the five scales used to characterize attitudes. Conclusion Using previous research on gender differences as a guide, we speculate that these differences originate in culturally-defined expectations that are gender-related, as well as in substantial differences in individual family experiences of death. These speculations can take the form of testable hypotheses that should explain differences within genders as well as between genders. We believe that better education about death for college students can shape healthier attitudes among both male and female.


Introduction 48
Death is the end of life. No one can avoid it. As natural as our birth, it is an inherent part of 49 life, a natural episode of human existence [1]. Attitudes toward death vary and depend on the culture,

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The Cronbach's α of each DAP-R-C subscale was between 0.585~0.853, and the correlation 126 coefficients between the subscales are smaller than the Cronbach's α of each subscale. The

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Cronbach's α of the total scale was 0.840. The split-half reliability of each DAP-R-C scale was 128 between 0.598~0.809. The total scale was divided into two equal parts by odd and even half method,

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The scale measures five dimensions of attitudes toward death: Approach acceptance, Escape regard death as a channel to happiness. They easily accept the concept of death, and even hope 136 that death will come sooner rather than later.
137 2. Escape acceptance: Individuals fear life more than death. They regard death as a way to relieve 138 the pain of life. It is a kind of death acceptance forced by suffering.

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"agree" scoring 4 points; " strongly agree " scoring 5 points.  Table 1 shows the average scores for the 154 full sample and for men and women separately. College students had the highest total scores on the 155 neutral acceptance dimension. Female students were significantly higher than male students on all men were significantly higher than women in the dimensions of fear of death, death avoidance, 158 approach acceptance and escape acceptance. **Correlation is significant at the .01 level (two-tailed). or different, we examine the correlations separately for each gender. These are shown in Table 3 suggests that the dimensions underlying the subscales are actually the same. The major difference 173 is where males and females are located on the scales. So the average differences tell an even stronger 174 story about gender differences, because males and females can be placed on the same subscales 175 rather than in gender-specific dimensions.
176 variables. None of the differences we observe in Table 4, even those that appear as significant 191 predictors of death attitudes in Table 5, can explain the gender difference.
192 195 Table 6 shows that the largest gender differences appear on several items that provoke 196 substantial disagreement from both genders. Over these items target avoidance of thinking about 197 death, the concept that death ends everything, and the idea that death is an escape from suffering.

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Although both men and women frequently reject these ideas, women show a stronger rejection. The 199 average gender differences in subscales reflect these items more than others. While many 200 respondents of both genders do not shy away from thoughts of death, women appear more likely to 201 allow these thoughts into their consciousness. Furthermore, most women do not their see their own 202 death as the end of everything, perhaps because their societal role emphasizes the preparation of a 203 generation that will survive them. Nearly two-thirds of women rejected the idea that death is an 204 escape from suffering, compared to only half of the men. These results suggest that the gender 205 differences we observe are not of a piece. They appear for some kinds of attitudes and disappear for 206 others. We see that most women in our sample do not push death out of their thoughts; they "do" 207 believe in something beyond death, and are not inclined to see death as a way to avoid suffering.
12 women's social and family status has to some extent improved, men still take on greater social and 223 family responsibilities, due to the influence of traditional Chinese ideology and culture [30]. In

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China, male university students focus on going out into society after graduation, with the need to 225 achieve in their career and to support a family [31]. Soaring property prices in China will 226 undoubtedly add considerable burden to their future lives. Below, we consider some of the reasons 227 we observe gender differences in attitudes toward death, keeping in mind the overall context of 228 culturally-driven gender roles that persist, even in a society that is modernizing rapidly.

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Possible explanations for our findings on gender differences 230 a. Women's Greater Role in Preparing for the Next Generation and Greater Experience in students have typically not yet experienced these things, but when they occur, these changes can 235 exert a profound effect on their lives. In the process of living their lives and taking on new roles, 236 women experience birth as they become a mother for the first time, and the continuity of the life 237 process. At the same time, since women are on the verge of life and death during childbirth, they 238 also experience the approach of death.

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A mother's care is an indispensable growth experience for each person from childhood onward. The women naturally acquire the identity of mother from the moment a child is born. This identity is 244 based on blood relationship and is accompanied by a child's birth. Therefore, the influence of the 245 mother on the child is the child's earliest influence [34]. Chinese women regard their children as a 246 continuation of their own lives, which means they have a huge investment in the future beyond their 247 own lives, so they are not afraid that death will end everything. freedom to speak with their mothers about death. This is influenced by many factors, such as the Females must face the reality that a couple will support four old people and raise one or two children 257 in the future. This is the result of China's special national conditions. In the past, in order to control 258 population growth, China adopted an "only child" policy, that is, couples were permitted to have 259 only one child. In recent years, however, China liberalized that policy, replacing it with a "two-child 260 policy", that is, after graduation from college couples may now have one child or more. Today,

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married couples now need to support two sets of parents and raise at least one child of their own. 274 but to remove the mystery of death and to illuminate the sacredness of death, so that students cherish 279 life more, and enhance their psychological health [38]." At the same time, we must formulate