According to Kalish, there is a relatively low level of fear of death among older adults because older persons:

• A. Have been able to live a long, full life
• B. May view their lives as having less value than the lives of younger persons
• C. Have undergone a socialization process through which they repeatedly experience the deaths of others
• D. Have fewer responsibilities

Answer: (A)

As people age, death anxiety often declines because a sense of completion and life review develops. When older adults feel they have lived a long, full life, they tend to view death as a natural part of the life course rather than an abrupt, unknown threat. This feeling of having accomplished meaningful goals, maintained important relationships, and left a legacy helps them accept mortality with less fear.

This is why the correct idea is that older persons have been able to live a long, full life. The other possibilities don’t capture the primary mechanism: simply encountering the deaths of others through socialization doesn’t reliably lessen fear, and having fewer responsibilities or valuing life less than younger people aren’t central factors in reducing death anxiety.