Holding death and meaning together: Psychological flexibility as a process of staying human

Psychological flexibility (PF), the capacity to remain open, aware, and active in the presence of difficult internal experiences, is central to the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) model and a growing target for transdiagnostic intervention. This poster introduces two thematically linked but methodologically independent doctoral research projects investigating PF in relation to two existentially salient experiences: death anxiety and meaning in life.

The first study examines whether higher levels of PF predict lower death anxiety in a UK general population sample, using the Death Anxiety Beliefs and Behaviours Scale (DABBS). It also explores the predictive value of specific PF subcomponents (valued action, openness, and awareness) across affective, cognitive, and behavioural domains of death anxiety. The second study investigates whether PF, particularly the valued action subcomponent, predicts the presence of meaning in life, as measured by the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), and explores its association with the search for meaning.

Both studies use the Comprehensive Assessment of ACT Processes (CompACT) as the primary measure of PF and share a recruitment stream. While results are pending, the poster presents the conceptual framework, methodology, and rationale underpinning both studies.

Importantly, the dual-thesis format exemplifies “pollination through connection” by intentionally pairing two existentially grounded constructs, death and meaning, within a unified ACT process model. The supervisory model itself reflects innovation through connection, enabling two doctoral trainees to work independently yet co-operatively under a shared conceptual umbrella.

We discuss the potential of psychological flexibility as a bridging process across seemingly divergent psychological experiences and offer reflections on the utility of shared themes in doctoral research design.