Death Anxiety and Intrusive Thinking during the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 has expanded into a life-threatening global pandemic. We examined COVID-19 effects on trauma measures, loneliness, and death anxiety in senior Israelis. Young and old adults (N = 277) were recruited through social media. They completed online questionnaires assessing mental status during the crisis. The findings yielded correlations between trauma reactions, death anxiety, and loneliness, agerelated change in rates of death anxiety and traumatic symptoms, but not in perceived loneliness. Trauma-related intrusive thinking was predicted by age, loneliness, death anxiety, and being in isolation. Traumatic reactions, as indicated by DSM-V, were observed for young adults, while grandchildren were found to be protective for older adults. Conclusions point to a high risk of postcrisis symptoms in older adults. The article recommends methods for maintaining mental health, highlighting the role of social interaction.