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Acts of Contrition, Forgiveness by God, and Death Anxiety Among Older Mexican Americans

The purpose of this study is to see if performing acts of contrition in order to be forgiven by God is associated with lower levels of death anxiety among older Mexican Americans. A conceptual model containing the following relationships was developed to evaluate this and other hypotheses: (a) It is hypothesized that older Mexican Americans who attend church more often will have a stronger sense of God-mediated control (i.e., the belief that God works together with people to attain desired goals and eliminate unwanted stressors), (b) individuals with a stronger sense of God-mediated control will be more likely to perform acts of contrition in order to earn God's forgiveness, (c) performing acts of contrition will enhance feelings of self-worth, and (d) a stronger sense of self-esteem will be associated with lower levels of death anxiety. Data from a nationwide sample of older Mexican Americans provide support for each of these relationships.