A 139-item questionnaire was constructed to account for additional variance in the attitudes and behaviors of student nurses toward the aged. This study was conducted to examine the effects of death anxiety on the attitudes and behaviors of student nurses toward old persons. To this end, 150 student nurses were surveyed. Eight scales were subjected to the following analysis: tests for independence (chi-square), two-way analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis. The results suggest that death anxiety and attitudes toward the aged are significantly correlated. A coefficient of determination of 8% indicates that death anxiety accounts for only a small amount of the variance in attitudes toward the aged. Attitudes toward geriatric nursing and death anxiety are not correlated. Of nine health care settings, institutions for the aged ranked as a preferred place of work. The aged as a patient group ranked next to last. Of five nursing specialities, geriatric nursing is ranked third as a career choice. Two hypotheses for coping with anxiety--an anxiety-denial hypothesis and an anxiety-reduction hypothesis--are used to interpret the results. (Author)