Deck 15: Death, Loss, and Bereavement

Question 1

generally occurs when a death is gradual and expected, as in the case of a chronic illness, and it can greatly ease the intensity and duration of grief following a death.

A) idealization of the deceased
B) denial and minimization of the death
C) horizontal stress
D) anticipatory mourning

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to the text, the family's response to a death is determined in part by the position the deceased held in terms of their functional role within the family and the degree of emotional dependence the family had on the individual. This is referred to as

A) engagement/disengagement
B) interdependence
C) centrality
D) emotional cutoff

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The final task that families must complete in order to adapt to the loss of a family member is

A) acknowledging the reality of the death
B) sharing experiences of pain and grief
C) investing in other relationships and new life pursuits
D) reorganizing the family system in response to the loss

Answer 3

C

Question 4

are the emotional responses to a family member's death that are felt throughout the family system producing stress and altering relationships even among family members who were emotionally removed from the deceased.

A) Emotional shock waves
B) Anniversary reactions
C) Indelible memories of the deceased
D) Post traumatic stress

Question 5

Which of the following has NOT been identified by research as being helpful to parents who are coping with the death of a child?

A) both parents were involved in caring for the child together
B) a consistent philosophy of life
C) strong religious beliefs
D) having other children

Question 6

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) As a general rule, unexpected deaths are thought to be more stressful than expected deaths.
B) As a general rule, expected deaths are thought to be more stressful than unexpected deaths.
C) Expected and unexpected deaths are equally stressful.
D) The cause of death has no effect on how stressful it is for the surviving family members.

Question 7

Parents who have difficulty coming to terms with the loss of a young child may enlist another sibling to assume the identity or characteristics of the deceased child. This is referred to as

A) surrogate child
B) poor differentiation
C) replacement role
D) denial and minimization

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT an accurate statement regarding how families cope with death?

A) A family's response to a death is influenced by the family's unique context.
B) The death of a family member affects each person in a unique and individual manner.
C) Despite the fact that each death is different, all families enact bereavement and other funeral rites in a rather standard and prescribed way.
D) The death of a family member alters structure, organization, and interaction throughout the entire system.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT considered an important task for bereaved families to complete?

A) All family members must acknowledge the reality of the death.
B) Family members must share a broad range of emotions related to their pain and grief.
C) The family must reorganize and redefine family members' roles.
D) The family must maintain a sense of loyalty to the deceased by remaining focused upon the past and the image of the deceased.

Question 10

According to the text, all of the following factors affect the emotional response of the family to a death, EXCEPT:

A) Finances available to deal with end-of-life expenses
B) Level of emotional support in the family before the death
C) The family's cultural values about death
D) The family history of coping with death

Question 11

There is often an expectation within the family for a young widowed spouse to

A) live at home
B) remain dependent upon family members for emotional support
C) move on quickly with their lives
D) retain a close relationship with in-laws

Question 12

is grief that exists even though society does not recognize one's need, right, or capacity to grieve.

A) illegitimate grief
B) unrecognized or unsanctioned grief
C) unresolved grief
D) denial

Question 13

The term that best describes unresolved previous losses that pileup and disrupt effective family functioning in the present is

A) vertical stresses
B) horizontal stresses
C) normative stresses
D) non-normative stresses

Question 14

Whose death is most likely to occur for a sudden or traumatic reason such as auto accident, drug overdose, suicide, homicide, or terminal illness?

A) adolescent
B) child
C) young recently married spouse
D) grandparent

Question 15

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the impact of loss on the family system?

A) The death of a family member is really the only major type of loss that seriously impacts upon the family's development and choice of strategies.
B) Most families never recover from the death of a family member
C) The loss of a parent's job, loss of the family's home due to a poor economy or a natural disaster, the loss of a family member's physical health, or the loss of one's physical mobility, are all examples of losses that can alter a family's developmental course and require adjustments in its choice of strategies.
D) Loss and bereavement are handled by most families in the same way

Question 16

Which of the following is most likely to result in the development of secrecy and blame that can distort family communication, isolate family members from one another, and interfere with efforts to seek social support from others outside of the family?

A) death of a grandparent
B) death of a child
C) death due to a sudden event such as a motorcycle accident or drowning
D) death due to a stigmatizing illness such as AIDS or suicide

Question 17

Which of the following does NOT help to explain why miscarriages, stillbirths, and abortions are especially difficult for young couples to grieve?

A) Society does not generally recognize them as serious losses
B) The couple may blame each other for the death
C) Men and women both experience the loss of attachment to the fetus
D) They may have difficulty opening up the newly established couple boundary to allow in support from the outside.

Question 18

Efforts to protect children or other vulnerable family members by withholding information about the death is likely to

A) Spare them unnecessary pain and grief
B) Inhibit their resolution of the loss and lead to the development of ineffective coping strategies such a denial, minimization and avoidance.
C) Delay their adjustment in the short run but be helpful to them over the long term
D) Aid their adjustment in the short run but be unhelpful to them over the long term

Question 19

In contrast to "expected deaths", deaths that defy the accepted views on life expectancy such as the early death of a parent, the death of a young spouse, or the death of a child are generally referred to as .

A) unlikely
B) unacceptable
C) traumatic
D) off-time

Question 20

is an emotional reliving of the person's death, each year, around the same time that the death occurred.

A) Anniversary reaction
B) Trauma
C) Repressed memory
D) Recurring memory

Question 21

According to Figley, a is cognitive understanding of the death that helps the family to accept the pain of the loss and make it possible for the family to evolve a new perspective that reestablishes a positive sense of control, fairness, and trust in the future.

A) myth
B) healing theory
C) metaframework
D) world view

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a helpful strategy for families to use in helping their young child cope with the premature death of the other parent?

A) Including the child in discussions about the deceased and other experiences associated with the loss.
B) Allowing the child to see and talk about the ways that other family members are grieving.
C) Protecting the child from further trauma by not grieving openly.
D) Be sure to be available to help the child grieve in his or her own way

Question 23

According to the text, an adult child's reactions to a parent's death, although varied, are influenced mainly by

A) the quality of the emotional ties between the parent and child over time
B) whether the adult child has children of their own
C) the quality of the adult child's marital relationship
D) the quality of the adult child's relationship to the surviving parent

Question 24

A is a strategy that is intended to protect family members from the pain of grieving by enacting rules that prohibit family members from talking about or remembering the deceased.

A) disassociation
B) family ritual
C) shroud of silence
D) family legacy

Question 25

Following the death of a spouse during later life most widowed women

A) remarry within several years
B) remain single and live alone
C) move in with a child
D) live in a nursing home