Table 1_Self-reported near-death and near-death-like experiences in a Chinese online sample: an exploratory mixed-methods study.docx

Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on 48 valid narratives.</p>Results<p>Self-reported NDE and NDE-like narratives shared recurrent features, including out-of-body experiences, bright light, bodily sensations, emotional changes, and altered perceptual content. Compared with NDE-like narratives, NDE narratives showed descriptively higher frequencies of peaceful emotions, encounters with entities, deceased loved ones or spiritual entities, personal insights, panoramic life review, and culturally specific Chinese imagery.

Chinese cultural motifs were infrequent overall, occurring in four of 23 NDE narratives and one of 25 NDE-like narratives. These motifs included Guimen Pass, Black and White Impermanence, Lord Chenghuang, reincarnation, karmic judgment, and underworld-related imagery.</p>Discussion<p>Because this study relied on retrospective self-report, an online convenience sample, and unverified medical contexts, the findings should be considered preliminary and hypothesis-generating.

The findings provide localized exploratory evidence that Chinese self-reported NDE narratives may combine recurrent NDE-related features with culturally specific symbolic content.</p>