Near-death experiences and personal values
American Journal of Psychiatry May 1, 1983 DOI: 10.1176/ajp.140.5.618 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPeople who have had near-death experiences report shifts in values and less suicidal thinking. In a study comparing 89 near-death experience survivors with 175 control subjects, survivors rated material and social success as less important. The authors suggest that letting go of personal failures may explain why near-death experiences appear to reduce suicidal ideation.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 264 |
| Population | Near-death experience survivors and control subjects |
| Citations | 78 |
| Key finding | Near-death experience survivors judged values related to material and social success as less important than did control subjects. |
Abstract
Near-death experiences reportedly foster value transformations and decrease suicidal ideation. Eighty-nine survivors of near-death experiences judged values related to material and social success as less important than did 175 control subjects. Decathexis of personal failures may account for the reported suicide-inhibiting effect.