Undergraduate Students’ Awareness of and Beliefs About Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena

Bibliographic Data

ID13629117
AuthorsStephen Claxton-Oldfield (0000-0001-6979-0694, Mount Allison University, corresponding author), Sara MacEachern (Mount Allison University)
Year2024
Volume93
Issue2
Pages302228241258059-302228241258059
Publication date2024-05-30
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00302228241258059
PMID38813603
OpenAlexW4399185918
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited15

One hundred and forty undergraduate students responded to an online survey investigating their awareness of and beliefs about 12 unusual end-of-life phenomena (EOLP). Three quarters or more of the students had heard about the following EOLP: deathbed visions (75%), after-death communications (84%), near-death experiences (86%), and dying people choosing their time of death (88%). Students were least aware of the phenomena of shapes leaving the body after death (30%) and clocks or watches stopping when someone dies (26%). The two most common sources of students' knowledge about EOLP were from watching TV/movies (52-79%) and the internet (38-71%); the least common source was personal/direct experience with the EOLP (2-36%). Fifty-three percent of the students strongly agreed/agreed that EOLP are spiritual events, while 41% strongly agreed/agreed that there are medical explanations for EOLP. Suggestions for future research are offered

Pedagogy · Sociology · Vision · Cold Fusion and Nuclear Reactions · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs · Psychology

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