Navigating Loss: Death Anxiety and Meaning in Life Among Internally Displaced Persons

Abstract

Globally, the number of forcibly displaced people is approximately 117.8 million, meaning that 1 in every 70 people
worldwide is forcibly displaced. Today, Georgia has over 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) within the country; in
addition to Georgians, more than 25,000 Ukrainian citizens displaced by the 2022 war reside in Georgia. The subject of this study
is the impact of loss resulting from war and armed conflict on the fear of death and the meaning of life among forcibly displaced
persons. The main objective of the research is to determine the relationship between the severity of loss, the meaning in life
(meaningfulness), and the fear of death among displaced individuals, as well as to evaluate the influence of additional
demographic and psychosocial factors on these variables. A mixed-methods methodology combining qualitative and quantitative
approaches was used for a comprehensive study of the issue (total sample N=154). Quantitative data were collected using
Templer's Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) and Crumbaugh and Maholick's Purpose in Life Test (PIL). Qualitative data were gathered
through a semi-structured interview framework. The study showed that individuals who lost a child during the conflict had a
statistically significantly lower intensity of fear of death and cognitive-affective factor compared to individuals with other types
of loss. Persons with official IDP status exhibited higher levels of fear of death than those without official status. Furthermore,
a statistically significant negative correlation was identified between scores for the meaning of life and the subscales of the fear
of death. The obtained results indicate that the loss of a child suppresses the experience of fear of death in forcibly displaced
persons, as losing their main purpose of existence extinguishes other fundamental fears. War-induced trauma and the duration
of displacement exert a profound impact on an individual's existential perception, while rediscovering meaning in life reduces
anxiety associated with death.