Humans respond to the anxiety and dread mortality salience produces by clinging to their cultural worldview, through self-esteem and also close personal relationships.
[3] When thoughts of death are salient, humans are drawn to their cultural world view which "stipulates appropriate social requirements, and standards for valued conduct, while instilling one's life with meaning, order and permanence.
[4] ABDT argues that individuals face overwhelming anxiety which leads to the symptoms of PTSD including re-experiencing, hyper-arousal, avoidance and disassociation.
These individuals in turn do not utilize the coping mechanisms that are typically used to remove the fear of death: culture, self-esteem, and interpersonal relationships.
In fact, in individuals with post traumatic stress disorder, mortality salience coping mechanisms are viewed as worthless and perhaps are even seen to be detestable.
Second, it seems the sense of relationship commitment is shaped by not only perceived relational investment, gains, and potential alternatives, as well as the existential need of denial of death awareness.
Third, it seems processes of terror management not only include worldview defenses to protect the self, but also promote commitment to significant others and the expansion of the self, provided by these relationships.
It appears close relationships not only protect individuals from concrete and actual threats or danger, but also offer a symbolic shield against the awareness of one's finitude.
People with post traumatic stress disorder have higher rates of divorce, more difficulty with their children, are more prone to domestic violence, and are emotionally distant from loved ones.
Subjects with low dissociative tendencies reacted as terror management theory predicts when confronted with mortality salience and thought of the earthquake.
In the control condition, where subjects were asked to talk about their anxiety related to their worst exam, death thought accessibility was lower for those with higher levels of PTSD.
The results indicate that the anxiety buffer of death thought suppression under normal circumstances failed when subjects were reminded of the traumatic event.