The present work built on self-determination theory, terror management theory, and related existential and humanistic perspectives to test the mediating role of symbolic immortality in the association between autonomy and meaning in life. In two samples (Sample 1, n = 1,414; Sample 2, n = 882), autonomy was significantly associated with symbolic immortality, which in turn was significantly associated with meaning in life. Moreover, in both samples, multiple regression analyses supported the view that autonomy is a unique and significant predictor of symbolic immortality, and the proposed indirect effect remained significant after controlling for self-esteem. These results extend prior work addressing autonomy and meaning in life and point to interesting empirical directions for further understanding the existential role of autonomy in managing death-related concerns.

当前的工作建立在自决理论，恐怖管理理论以及相关的存在主义和人本主义观点的基础上，以检验象征性永生在自主权与生命意义之间的中介作用。在两个样本中（样本1，n = 1,414；样本2，n= 882），自治与象征性的不朽性显着相关，而后者又与生命的意义显着相关。此外，在这两个样本中，多元回归分析均支持以下观点：自主性是象征性永生的唯一且重要的预测指标，并且所提出的间接影响在控制自尊后仍然很重要。这些结果扩展了先前关于生命自治和生命意义的工作，并指出了有趣的经验方向，以进一步理解自治在处理与死亡相关的担忧中的存在作用。