The meaning of death for adolescents, middle aged and elderly geriatrics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-863X2011000200005Keywords:
death, developmental psychology, adolescents, middle aged, geriatricsAbstract
Despite the increase in the quantity of works that aim to study death as a research topic is observed that it still prevails the prohibition of the subject death, what can make difficult how the issue is discussed. This study aimed to increase the understanding of how people in different ages deal with losses and with their end. Seven adolescents, 14 middle aged and 10 elderly people were interviewed and the dates were analyzed using content analysis. Among these participants, the middle aged were who showed most distress and anxiety when talking about death and about the possibility of losing people they love. The adolescents showed a relation to death as a distant and impersonal issue, while the elderly accepted it and kept a closely relationship with it. It is suggested the conduction of studies to deepen these understandings, relating them to different religions, social classes and loss experiences.Downloads
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