Centre for Policy on Ageing



Older adults' fear and acceptance of death — a transition model
Author(s)	Victor G Cicirelli
Journal title	Ageing International, vol 28, no 1, Winter 2003
Pages	pp 66-81
Keywords	Death ; Anxiety ; Attitude ; Black people ; White people ; Social surveys ; United States of America.
Annotation	A transition model of fear of death in older people is proposed, in which increased fear of death is predicted for elders in their late seventies and early eighties, evoked by the conflict or tension between the urge to survive and the awareness of limited survival time. This fear prompts coping effects, with cognitive and emotional reorganisation leading to decreased fear and increased acceptance of death. Study participants were 109 older Americans (93 women, 16 men; 68 whites, 41 African Americans), ranging in age from 70 to 97 (mean age 80.7). In addition to earlier analysis showing increased fear of death for the transition period, qualitative analysis of open-ended interview protocols identified use of denial and suppression by younger participants, various coping strategies by those in their late 70s and early 80s, and increased acceptance of death by older participants. Evidence provides modest support for the model. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-030522003 A
Classmark	CW: ENP: DP: TKE: TKA: 3F: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.