Deck 11: Death and Bereavement

Question 1

Which of the following age groups of adults is likely to have the greatest fear of death?

A) 20-30
B) 40-50
C) 60-70
D) 80-90

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following groups of individuals is likely to have the highest level of fear of death?

A) adults who are satisfied with themselves and what they have done with their lives
B) introverted adults
C) adults who feel their lives lack purpose or meaning
D) extraverted adults

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Marshall and Levy suggest that 2 important functions of rituals are _______.

A) venting and rituals
B) rituals and mourning
C) control and meaningfulness
D) mourning and meaningfulness

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to Kübler-Ross, which of the following is the first response to being told one is dying?

A) anger
B) bargaining
C) depression
D) denial

Question 5

Research on the survival prospects of women with breast cancer generally shows which of the following responses to the diagnosis to be associated with the POOREST survival rate?

A) denial
B) stoic acceptance
C) anger
D) fighting spirit

Question 6

Which of the following groups is likely to have the LEAST fear of death?

A) adults high in neuroticism
B) middle-aged adults
C) adults with strong religious commitment
D) extraverted adults

Question 7

Which of the following personality characteristics has been found to be correlated (positively or negatively) with fear or anxiety about death?

A) extraversion
B) conscientiousness
C) a sense of purpose in life
D) openness to experience

Question 8

Which of the following personality characteristics has been found to be correlated (positively or negatively) with fear or anxiety about death?

A) extraversion
B) conscientiousness
C) a sense of purpose in life
D) openness to experience

Question 9

Wenda Yuan-si, a 42 year old Chinese-American technology consultant, decided it was time to finalize some things that he has long put off. Wenda made out his Last Will and Testament, and he bought life insurance. His actions are typical of what process?

A) reminiscence
B) finitude
C) living wills
D) adaption

Question 10

According to Kübler-Ross, which of the following is the first response to being told one is dying?

A) anger
B) bargaining
C) depression
D) denial

Question 11

Which of the following age groups of adults is likely to talk the most about death and dying?

A) 20-30
B) 40-50
C) 60-70
D) 80-90

Question 12

Among adults in the United States, a belief in life after death is _______.

A) more common among men than among women
B) more common among Jews than among Christians
C) more common among those over the age of 65 than among those in early adulthood
D) equally likely in adults of all ages

Question 13

Which of the following groups is likely to have the greatest fear of death?

A) regular churchgoers who are highly religious
B) irregular churchgoers who are moderately or weakly religious
C) strongly non-religious adults
D) It makes no difference: religiousness is unrelated to fear of death.

Question 14

Research suggests which of the following individuals typically will suffer the most from "death anxiety"?

A) Carlos, a 22 year old college student, full of purpose and vim, an atheist
B) Richard, a 72 year old retired mechanic, a devoted Muslim, and has no regrets in life
C) Katie, an 89 year old widow, an active member in the United Methodist Church
D) Aretha, a 49 year old housewife, regrets that she did not college; she believes in an afterlife, but she's not sure she earned a place in it

Question 15

For which type of patient is hospice care intended?

A) the chronically but not terminally ill
B) the acutely ill (such as those with severe pneumonia)
C) anyone terminally ill
D) only cancer patients

Question 16

Which of the following individuals is likely to have the strongest fear of death?

A) Eric, a highly religious man, aged 50
B) Caroline, a highly religious young woman, aged 25
C) Lucetta, an atheist, aged 70
D) B.J., a man of 45 with no clear religious ideas

Question 17

Wenda Yuan-si, a 42 year old Chinese-American technology consultant, decided it was time to finalize some things that he has long put off. Wenda made out his Last Will and Testament, and he bought life insurance. His actions are typical of what process?

A) reminiscence
B) finitude
C) living wills
D) adaption

Question 18

At what age does Bernice Neugarten think that most adults switch from thinking of time as "time since birth" to thinking of "time 'till death"?

A) early adulthood: 20-35
B) middle adulthood: 35-45
C) early old age: 65-75
D) late old age: 75+

Question 19

A term used in hospice care that refers to support that is aimed at pain alleviation and comfort maximization with a minimum of life-prolonging measures is _______.

A) curative care
B) psychosocial care
C) palliative care
D) alleviation care

Question 20

Studies of grief responses in adults suggest that _______.

A) the great majority of adults show a strong response, including some depression, for at least 6 months after the loss but then recover
B) most adults show only a very brief level of distress, and then recover quickly
C) there are several different patterns of grief reactions, no one of which is dominant
D) failure to display distress immediately after a loss is linked to high levels of later problems

Question 21

Marshall and Levy suggest that 2 important functions of rituals are _______.

A) venting and rituals
B) rituals and mourning
C) control and meaningfulness
D) mourning and meaningfulness

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a feature of hospice care?

A) Family members perform all physical care of the patient.
B) Family members make decisions about the location and manner of the patient's care.
C) Family members are encouraged to make plans for the time after the patient's death.
D) Family members are encouraged to view death as normal.

Question 23

Which is the one emotional response to impending death that has been most consistently found in research on dying?

A) anger
B) bargaining
C) depression
D) denial

Question 24

Which of the following describes the population that Kübler-Ross studied?

A) terminally ill adults and children
B) incarcerated men.
C) patients only in the early stages of their disease, immediately after they had been diagnosed.
D) all of the above

Question 25

Among middle-aged adults, which ones are likely to show the MOST fear of death?

Question 26

Which of the following pairs of types of responses is associated with HIGH survival rates for women diagnosed with breast cancer, according to Greer's research?

A) denial or stoic acceptance
B) denial or fighting spirit
C) stoic acceptance or fighting spirit
D) anxious preoccupation or denial

Question 27

For which type of patient is hospice care intended?

A) the chronically but not terminally ill
B) the acutely ill (such as those with severe pneumonia)
C) anyone terminally ill
D) only cancer patients

Question 28

List the stages of dying as proposed by Kübler-Ross. What is the current status of this theory?

Question 29

During 2009, approximately how many individuals took advantage of Oregon's law allowing physician-assisted suicide?

A) 53
B) 87
C) 122
D) 168

Question 30

What explanations have been given for the oft-observed phenomenon that adults are more afraid of death at middle age than at any other period in adulthood?

Question 31

What aspect of caring for dying patients is NOT reflected in Kübler-Ross's research?

A) unfinished needs
B) Caregivers need to listen actively.
C) We need to learn from the dying.
D) the importance of farewells

Question 32

According to Kübler-Ross, which of the following is the final response in the stages of reactions to the knowledge of death?

A) anger
B) denial
C) acceptance
D) depression

Question 33

Which of the 4 stages of response to grief proposed by Bowlby is similar to the final stage in Kübler-Ross's sequence of responses to dying?

A) numbness
B) disorganization and despair
C) yearning
D) reorganization

Question 34

The classic response of an individual when told that she has a terminal disease is to say "Why me?" Which stage of response to dying is this thought to represent?

A) denial
B) anger
C) depression
D) bargaining

Question 35

A patient, after being told he has terminal cancer, says, "No, that must be someone else. The lab results must have gotten mixed up." This is an example of what stage of response to dying, according to Kübler-Ross's theory?

A) denial
B) anger
C) bargaining
D) depression

Question 36

When a young child is separated temporarily from his mother, he will usually search for his mother, often crying. Which of the suggested phases of grieving in adults is psychologically similar to this childish searching behavior?

A) distress
B) yearning
C) numbness
D) disorganization

Question 37

Studies of patients diagnosed with several types of disease, including AIDS and cancer, suggest that _______.

A) those who express a lot of hostility and anger die sooner
B) those who express little hostility or anger die sooner
C) "good patients" who do what they are told by physicians survive longer
D) there is no consistent link between personality and length of survival

Question 38

A patient, after learning that she has a terminal disease, says, "I can beat this if I just do everything the doctor says-if I do all the chemotherapy, and all the radiation, and change the way I eat." This is an example of what stage of response to dying, according to Kübler-Ross's theory?

A) anger
B) denial
C) bargaining
D) depression

Question 39

Research on the survival prospects of women with breast cancer generally shows which of the following responses to the diagnosis to be associated with the POOREST survival rate?

A) denial
B) stoic acceptance
C) anger
D) fighting spirit

Question 40

The sequence of 5 stages of responses to dying, according to Kübler -Ross's theory, is _______.

A) anger, denial, depression, bargaining, acceptance
B) anger, denial, bargaining, depression, acceptance
C) denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance
D) denial, anger, depression, bargaining, acceptance

Question 41

What conclusions do you think are reasonable ones to draw from research on the link between survival rates and personality or response to the disease? Cite specific research in support of your position where possible. What additional research would you suggest we need in order to clarify the results in this area?

Question 42

When people learn that a friend is dying, they sometimes stay away because they don't know what to do or to say. How can this decision be harmful? What are some helpful things they can do and say?

Question 43

Create two fictitious individuals who are experiencing the death of a loved one, each from distinctly different cultural backgrounds. Explain the mourning and burial rituals and relate these to one of the predominant grief and bereavement theories. Which individual and which individual's loved ones do you believe experience the greatest fulfillment in death, if either? Explain your answer.

Question 44

Evaluate the following assertion: "Adults who have achieved a great deal of worldly success are likely to be more afraid of death than are those who have been less successful, since they are more afraid of losing what they have achieved."

Question 45

Compare the stages of dying proposed by Kübler-Ross and the stages of grieving proposed by Bowlby. To what extent do you think this sequence is a basic response to loss of any kind?

Question 46

Describe how your family experiences [or may experience] the death of a loved one. Explain your family's mourning and funeral traditions, include the specific mourning and burial rituals and relate these to one of the predominant grief and bereavement theories

Question 47

Describe the evidence suggesting that high levels of social support are linked to better prognoses or longer survival times for those with serious disease.

Question 48

Describe briefly the major features of hospice care. If your parent or your spouse were dying, would you consider such a program of care as an alternative to hospital care? Why or why not?

Question 49

Describe the major functions of funerals and other rituals surrounding death.