Late Adulthood, Death, Dying
and Bereavement
Chapters 17-19
Piaget’s Formal Operations Stage
Abstract thought
Erik Erikson
• Ego integrity vs despair
– Feeling whole, complete and satisfied with
life’s achievement
– Vs despair-made many wrong decisions yet
time is too short to find an alternate route to
integrity
– Hard to accept death
– Anger and contempt with others maybe
expressed
Physical Issues
• Dementia-loss of memory
• Alzheimer’s Disease-leading cause of death in
elderly population
• Cancer/ heart issues/breathing
• Diabetes/broken bones
• Issues with cold and heat- due to nervous system
• Issues with taste buds
• Macular degeneration-vision blurs and loss of
vision
• Loss of some smell
Exercise and life style
• Exercise and active lifestyle seem to
improve
loss of memory, loss of body mass, loss
of energy and loss stamina
increase of oxygen and blood flow
throughout the body
Care for the Elderly
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Nursing homes-assisted living
Hospice
Care of family members
Living alone
hospitals
Reflections
• Elderly may participate in life reflectionreflecting on one’s life to recognize
contribution to society and others
• Many cultures hold elderly in high social
status and view them with much wisdom
Terminal Decline
• Steady marked decrease in cognitive
functioning prior to death
• Some say average 1-3 years possible 5 years
• Loss of memory, speech, motor function,
bodily functions can be signs
Death and Dying
• Dying occurs in 3 phases
– Agonal phase- gasps and muscle spasms
– Clinical death- short interval in which
heartbeat, circulation, breathing and brain
functioning stop but resuscitation is still
possible
– Mortality occurs when the individual passes
into permanent death
Brain Death
• Irreversible cessation of all activity of the
brain and brain stem which controls reflexs
• persistent
Understanding of Death
• Permanence-once living things die, they can
not be brought back
• Universality-all living things die
• Nonfuctionality-all living things
function,and cease at death
Stages of Bereavement
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Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
Components to think about
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Wills
Place of death
Place of burial
Method of burial
Other terms
• Euthanasia
• Assisted Suicide
Other cultures view of death and
dying
• See handout