Abstract: Abstract：The COVID-19 makes people ponder on the ultimate existential questions, such as life and death. The present study employed qualitative research methods in order to explore the psychological state of people when facing death under the influence of COVID-19 epidemic. In the current study, we used an intensity sampling method with a comprehensive sampling strategy to gain participants. The sample was composed of 18 subjects which consist of 10 males and 8 females. Mean age was 39.6±10.8 years. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with each of the participants. All interviews were recorded and transcribed into text, then coded and analyzed in Nvivo 11 based on grounded theory. This format included data reduction and theme generation through using open coding, axis coding and selective coding sequently. In addition, participants inspection and expert judgment were adapted to confirm the research results’ validity. In the present study, a total of 269，000 words of transcripts were obtained, with 657 open codes and 22 themes. Research shows that from the perspective of spiritual reality, social reality and physical reality, based on death threats under the influence of COVID-19, the impact on people can be divided into the following three aspects: (1) Sense of Control: Before the epidemic, individuals mainly use the activated avoidance and passive approach to make sure the stability of themselves when facing death events. The death threat of COVID-19 epidemic would contribute to the loss of control on the physical level, whose main manifestations included information uncertainty, unexpected death, death without ability to change and physical loss of control. The response of sense of control was mainly carried out from four aspects: information confirmation, material confirmation, treatment process confirmation and prevention of loss of control. (2) Interpersonal Relationship: A distant person of death did not affect the stability of relationship before the epidemic. However, when a death person close to them, it was buffered by intimate relationships and interpersonal interactions. The fear of relationship breakdown and the compensatory satisfaction of the relationship were also expressed in the face of death threat. The interpersonal relationship level could be dealt with in two ways. One was the enhancement of the relationship and the other was the isolation of the relationship. (3) Sense of Meaning: Before the epidemic, due to social culture, education and personal experience, individuals through values and personal mentality to ensure the sense of meaning when facing death. The threat of death from the Covid-19 outbreak caused a crisis of meaning among respondents. It was mainly manifested as the weakening of self-mental representation, leading to a psychological " selflessness state" and a physical " life-saving state". The response at the level of meaning could be carried out through two aspects including meaning reconstruction and meaning reinforcement. Finally, the limitations and suggestions are analyzed.

Key words: COVID-19, psychology of death, qualitative research, grounded theory

摘要： 在新型冠状病毒威胁下，人们不得不思考一些终极的存在问题，比如生命与死亡。本研究采用扎根理论，探索新冠肺炎疫情影响下人们面对死亡威胁时的心理机制。抽取18名成年被试进行深入访谈，对资料依次进行开放式编码、主轴编码和选择性编码。结果发现，随着时间发展死亡心理分为疫情前的平静期，疫情爆发后的死亡威胁期以及应对期。从物理现实、社会现实和精神现实层面，死亡威胁带给人们的影响有控制感丧失、关系断裂以及意义危机三个方面，应对策略为控制感应对、关系应对及意义应对。

关键词: 新冠肺炎, 死亡心理, 质性研究, 扎根理论