Ansiedad ante la Muerte en Adultos: una Revisión Sistemática de la Evidencia Empírica
Death Anxiety in Adults: A Systematic Review of the Empirical Evidence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29394/Scientific.issn.2542-2987.2026.11.e3.1.15-29Palabras clave:
ansiedad, muerte, adulto, factores psicológicos, intervenciónResumen
La ansiedad ante la muerte constituye una problemática psicológica frecuentemente invisibilizada, que atraviesa distintas etapas del ciclo vital y contextos socioculturales diversos. El objetivo general de esta revisión fue determinar el panorama de la ansiedad ante la muerte en adultos a partir de la evidencia empírica producida en los últimos cinco años. Se empleó un enfoque cualitativo, con el método de revisión sistemática y un diseño de carácter documental, conforme a la declaración PRISMA 2020. La búsqueda se realizó en las bases de datos Scopus y SciELO, considerando artículos publicados entre 2021 y 2025 en español, inglés y portugués, con acceso abierto y pertinencia temática; tras aplicar los criterios de elegibilidad se incluyeron 21 estudios en la síntesis. Los resultados indican que la ansiedad ante la muerte es un fenómeno global complejo, documentado con especial intensidad por la investigación desarrollada en el contexto de la pandemia de la Covid-19, cuyos niveles varían según la población y el contexto: la evidencia disponible sugiere niveles mayores en mujeres, en personas con condiciones médicas crónicas y en quienes enfrentan amenazas vitales directas. Las manifestaciones incluyen afectación del bienestar psicológico, alteraciones en la esfera laboral y asociaciones con depresión y soledad, mientras que la espiritualidad, la religiosidad y el sentido de vida operan como factores protectores. Los hallazgos sugieren que la ansiedad ante la muerte representa un fenómeno multidimensional, con mecanismos psicológicos complejos, que requiere abordajes integrales y sensibles al contexto.
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