Psychology of Death
Factors Contributing to Death
Denial
 1)
Secularization of American Society
 2) Deritualization of Grief
 3) Growth of Medical Technology Around
the Dying
 4) Increased Unrealistic Attention and
Focus on Death
Denial of Death
3
primary styles of denial:

1) simply ignore death

2) lessen the harshness of death

3) distorted preoccupation with death
Fear of Death
3
primary categories of fear:

1) Fear of the Process of Dying

2) Fear of the Loss of Life

3) Fear of What Happens After Death
Death Anxiety
4
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measurement instruments:
1) Death Anxiety Scale (Templer)
2) Threat Index (Krieger, Epting and Leitner)
3) Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale
4) Holter Multidimensional Fear of Death
Scale
Patterns of Response to Death
 1)
Death Acceptance
 2)
Death Defiance
 3)
Death Denial
Cultural Diversity and Funeral
Practices
 1)
Jewish Religion and Culture
 2) African-American Culture
 3) Native American Culture
 4) Mexican-American Culture
Childhood Awareness of Death

Nagy
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
Piaget
Grollman
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
Level 1 (birth to age 5)
Level 2 (ages 5-9)
Level 3 (ages 9 and up)
birth to 3 years
3-5 years
5-9 years
9 years and up
Canine and Dates
Factors Influencing How a Child
Interprets Death
 Developmental
Stage
 Personality
 Life
Experiences
 Emotional
Support
Explaining Death to Children
 Grollman:
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what not to say
Make believe stories or fairy tales
Something you don’t believe yourself
“Mother has gone on a long journey”
“God took Daddy away because He wants
and loves the good in heaven”
“Daddy is now in heaven”
“Grandma dies because she was sick”
“To die is to sleep”
Explaining Death to Children
(cont’d)
 Grollman:




what to say
Share your own religious convictions with
your own child only.
Speak in concrete terms rather than
philosophical ones.
Grant permission to cry and express feelings.
Acknowledge when you do not know the
answer.
Young Adults
 Piaget:
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Capable of concepts of time, space and
causality
Can hypothesize, theorize and personalize
Form abstract ideas about the nature of death
Formulate their own theologies
Males and females differ in their orientations
Death-related issues are “acted out”
Midlife
 Death



Issues:
Caring for a dying parent
Death of a parent validates one’s own
mortality
Must find balance between society’s
emphasis on youthfulness and a physical
body that is getting older
Geriatric
 Place
a greater emphasis on life and living
 Generally not intimidated by death
 Many are accepting of the closeness of
death
 Have a lower death anxiety than younger
age groups
 Widows have more physical symptoms
than widowers