PSYCH 250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Longitudinal Study, Palliative Care
Document Summary
As young as age 2, children have some conception of death, but their perspective differs from adults. Example: bering & bjorklund, 2004 (see figure). Death is often romanticized between ages 15 and 25. A major shift in attitudes about death happens when adults become responsible for work and family. A positive sign of mental health in older adults is acceptance of their mortality (e. g. , write up wills, buy a burial plot, etc. A good death is peaceful & quick. It occurs at the end of a long life & the person is surrounded by friends and family. The belief in an afterlife is directly related to the perception of how much time you have left on earth. The goal of hospice is to making dying easier for the terminally ill & their families. Each patient"s autonomy and decisions are respected. Family members & friends are counseled before death, shown how to provide care, & helped after death.
