The Last Dance - Encountering Death and Dying

Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 10
Preface......Page 22
Prologue......Page 30
CHAPTER 1 Attitudes Toward Death: A Climate of Change......Page 34
In the News......Page 35
Entertaining Death......Page 37
Language......Page 39
Music......Page 41
Literature......Page 44
Visual Arts......Page 47
Humor......Page 52
Living with Awareness of Death......Page 54
Dimensions of Thanatology......Page 55
Death Anxiety and Fear of Death......Page 56
Terror Management......Page 58
The Rise of Death Education......Page 60
Pioneers in Death Studies......Page 61
Factors Affecting Familiarity with Death......Page 63
Life Expectancy and Mortality Rates......Page 64
Causes of Death......Page 66
Geographic Mobility and Intergenerational Contact......Page 67
Life-Extending Technologies......Page 69
The Internet and the Digital Age......Page 71
Examining Assumptions......Page 72
Death in a Cosmopolitan Society......Page 73
Exploring Your Own Losses and Attitudes......Page 75
Further Readings......Page 76
CHAPTER 2 Learning About Death: Socialization......Page 78
A Child's Reasoning......Page 79
A Mature Concept of Death......Page 80
Understanding Death Through the Life Course......Page 82
Infancy and Toddlerhood......Page 86
Early Childhood......Page 87
Middle Childhood or School-Age Period......Page 89
Adolescence......Page 91
Early Adulthood......Page 93
Middle Adulthood......Page 94
The Evolution of a Mature Concept of Death......Page 95
Agents of Socialization......Page 96
Family......Page 97
School and Peers......Page 98
Mass Media and Children's Literature......Page 101
Teachable Moments......Page 105
The Death of a Companion Animal......Page 107
The Mature Concept of Death Revisited......Page 110
Further Readings......Page 116
CHAPTER 3 Perspectives on Death: Historical and Cultural......Page 118
Origin of Death......Page 121
Names of the Dead......Page 123
Causes of Death......Page 124
Power of the Dead......Page 126
Western Culture......Page 127
The Deathbed Scene......Page 129
Charnel Houses......Page 131
The Dance of Death......Page 133
Death Masks......Page 135
Invisible Death?......Page 136
People of Native American Heritage......Page 137
People of African Heritage......Page 141
The LoDagaa of Northern Ghana......Page 143
Traditions Among African Americans......Page 145
People of Hispanic Heritage......Page 146
Día de los Muertos......Page 147
People of Asian Heritage......Page 151
Paper Offerings......Page 156
Ch'ing ming and O-bon Festivals......Page 157
People of Celtic Heritage......Page 158
People of Oceanian Heritage......Page 161
Characteristics of Hawaii's Peoples......Page 162
Death and Local Identity......Page 163
Death in Contemporary Multicultural Societies......Page 165
Further Readings......Page 166
CHAPTER 4 Death Systems: Mortality and Society......Page 168
Certification of Death......Page 169
The Coroner and the Medical Examiner......Page 170
Autopsies......Page 173
Assessing Homicide......Page 176
Capital Punishment......Page 179
Defining Death......Page 180
Conventional Signs of Death and New Technology......Page 182
Conceptual and Empirical Criteria......Page 184
Irreversible Loss of the Soul from the Body......Page 186
Irreversible Loss of the Capacity for Bodily Integration......Page 188
Irreversible Loss of the Capacity for Consciousness or Social Interaction......Page 189
The Uniform Determination of Death Act......Page 191
Organ Transplantation and Organ Donation......Page 194
Medical Ethics: A Cross-Cultural Example......Page 199
The Impact of the Death System......Page 201
Further Readings......Page 202
CHAPTER 5 Health Care: Patients, Staff, and Institutions......Page 204
Modern Health Care......Page 205
Health Care Financing......Page 207
Rationing Scarce Resources......Page 209
The Caregiver-Patient Relationship......Page 210
Disclosing a Life-Threatening Diagnosis......Page 211
Achieving Clear Communication......Page 212
Care of the Dying......Page 214
Hospice and Palliative Care......Page 216
The Origins of Hospice and Palliative Care......Page 220
Challenges for Hospice and Palliative Care......Page 221
The Future of Hospice and Palliative Care......Page 224
Home Care......Page 225
Social Support......Page 227
Elder Care......Page 228
Trauma and Emergency Care......Page 230
Death Notification......Page 233
Caregiver Stress and Compassion Fatigue......Page 236
A Changing Health Care System......Page 238
Further Readings......Page 239
CHAPTER 6 End-of-Life Issues and Decisions......Page 242
Principles of Medical Ethics......Page 243
Principles of Informed Consent......Page 244
Preferences Regarding Informed Consent......Page 246
Choosing Death......Page 250
Withholding or Withdrawing Treatment......Page 254
Physician-Assisted Death......Page 255
Euthanasia......Page 258
Palliative Care and the Right to Die......Page 259
Nutrition and Hydration......Page 260
Seriously Ill Newborns......Page 261
Advance Directives......Page 262
Using Advance Directives......Page 267
Advance Directives and Emergency Care......Page 269
Inheritance: Wills, Probate, and Living Trusts......Page 270
Wills......Page 271
The Formally Executed Will......Page 274
Amending or Revoking a Will......Page 275
The Duties of the Executor or Administrator......Page 277
Laws of Intestate Succession......Page 279
Living Trusts......Page 280
Insurance and Death Benefits......Page 282
Considering End-of-Life Issues and Decisions......Page 284
Further Readings......Page 285
CHAPTER 7 Facing Death: Living with Life-Threatening Illness......Page 288
Personal and Social Meanings of Life-Threatening Illness......Page 290
Awareness of Dying......Page 292
Adapting to "Living-Dying"......Page 293
Patterns of Coping......Page 295
Maintaining Coping Potency......Page 298
Treatment Options and Issues......Page 301
Surgery......Page 304
Radiation Therapy......Page 305
Alternative Therapies......Page 306
The Placebo Effect......Page 309
Unorthodox Treatment......Page 310
Pain Management......Page 311
Treating Pain......Page 312
The Dying Trajectory......Page 315
The Social Role of the Dying Patient......Page 318
Being with Someone Who is Dying......Page 321
Further Readings......Page 322
CHAPTER 8 Last Rites: Funerals and Body Disposition......Page 324
Announcement of Death......Page 327
Mutual Support......Page 330
Impetus for Coping with Loss......Page 331
Funerals in the United States......Page 332
The Rise of Professional Funeral Services......Page 333
Criticisms of Funeral Practices......Page 335
New and Rediscovered Memorial Choices......Page 338
Selecting Funeral Services......Page 340
Funeral Service Charges......Page 342
Professional Services......Page 343
Embalming......Page 344
Caskets......Page 346
Outer Burial Containers......Page 347
Direct Cremations and Immediate Burials......Page 348
Body Disposition......Page 350
Burial......Page 353
Cremation......Page 355
Memorialization......Page 357
Laws Regulating Body Disposition......Page 358
New Directions in Funerals and Body Disposition......Page 359
Remembrance Rituals and Linking Objects......Page 362
Making Meaningful Choices......Page 363
Further Readings......Page 368
CHAPTER 9 Survivors: Understanding the Experience of Loss......Page 370
Bereavement, Grief, and Mourning......Page 372
Tasks of Mourning......Page 375
Working Through Grief......Page 376
Continuing Bonds with the Deceased......Page 377
Telling the "Story": Narrative Reconstruction......Page 379
The Dual Process Model of Coping......Page 380
The Two-Track Model of Bereavement......Page 381
Toward an Integrated Model of Grief......Page 382
The Course of Grief......Page 384
The Duration of Grief......Page 387
Complications of Grief......Page 388
The Mortality of Bereavement......Page 391
Personality......Page 393
Perceived Relationship with the Deceased......Page 394
Coping Patterns and Gender......Page 396
Mode of Death......Page 398
Anticipated Death......Page 399
Suicide......Page 400
Disaster......Page 401
Social Support and Disenfranchised Grief......Page 402
Unfinished Business......Page 404
Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy......Page 405
Support for the Bereaved......Page 408
Bereavement as an Opportunity for Growth......Page 409
Further Readings......Page 411
CHAPTER 10 Death in the Lives of Children and Adolescents......Page 414
Experiences with Death......Page 417
Children as Survivors of a Close Death......Page 420
The Bereaved Child's Experience of Grief......Page 421
The Death of a Parent......Page 422
The Death of a Sibling......Page 424
Children with Life-Threatening Illnesses......Page 428
The Child's Perception of Serious Illness......Page 429
The Child's Coping Mechanisms......Page 430
Providing and Organizing Care......Page 431
Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Care......Page 432
Decisions About Medical Treatment......Page 434
Caring for a Seriously Ill Child......Page 435
Support Groups for Children......Page 436
Discussing Death Before a Crisis Occurs......Page 438
Discussions When a Family Member Is Seriously Ill......Page 440
Discussions in the Aftermath of Loss......Page 441
Further Readings......Page 444
CHAPTER 11 Death in the Lives of Adults......Page 446
Death and the College Student......Page 447
The Death of a Parent......Page 449
Parental Bereavement......Page 452
Childbearing Losses......Page 453
Induced Abortion......Page 455
Stillbirth......Page 457
Neonatal Death......Page 458
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome......Page 459
Grief for "Unlived" Lives......Page 460
The Death of an Older Child......Page 461
The Death of an Adult Child......Page 462
Coping with Bereavement as a Couple......Page 463
Social Support in Parental Bereavement......Page 464
Factors Influencing Spousal Bereavement......Page 465
Social Support for Bereaved Spouses......Page 468
Aging and the Aged......Page 469
Further Readings......Page 474
CHAPTER 12 Suicide......Page 476
Comprehending Suicide......Page 477
Statistical Issues......Page 478
The Psychological Autopsy......Page 480
Degree of Social Integration......Page 482
Degree of Social Regulation......Page 484
Psychological Insights About Suicide......Page 485
Toward an Integrated Understanding of Suicide......Page 486
Suicide as Escape......Page 488
Cry for Help......Page 490
Risk Factors Influencing Suicide......Page 493
Culture......Page 495
Personality......Page 496
The Individual Situation......Page 497
Childhood......Page 500
Adolescence and Early Adulthood......Page 501
Middle Adulthood......Page 504
Contemplating Suicide......Page 505
Suicide Notes......Page 508
Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention......Page 510
Prevention......Page 511
Intervention......Page 512
Postvention......Page 513
Helping a Person Who Is in Suicidal Crisis......Page 514
Further Readings......Page 516
CHAPTER 13 Risks, Perils, and Traumatic Death......Page 518
Accidents and Injuries......Page 519
Risk Taking......Page 520
Disasters......Page 523
Reducing the Impact of Disasters......Page 527
Coping with the Aftermath of Disaster......Page 528
Violence......Page 530
Serial Killers and Mass Murderers......Page 532
Familicide......Page 534
Steps Toward Reducing Violence......Page 535
War......Page 536
Technological Alienation......Page 537
The Conversion of the Warrior......Page 538
Coping with the Aftermath of War......Page 540
Making War, Making Peace......Page 542
Genocide......Page 545
Terrorism......Page 546
September 11, 2001......Page 548
The Mind of the Terrorist......Page 550
Horrendous Death......Page 552
Emerging Infectious Diseases......Page 553
The Response to AIDS......Page 554
The Threat of Emerging Diseases......Page 556
Further Readings......Page 558
CHAPTER 14 Beyond Death / After Life......Page 560
Traditional Concepts About Life After Death......Page 561
Jewish Beliefs About Death and Resurrection......Page 563
Classical Greek Concepts of Immortality......Page 565
Christian Beliefs About the Afterlife......Page 567
The Afterlife in Islamic Tradition......Page 571
Death and Immortality in Asian Religions......Page 572
Hindu Teachings About Death and Rebirth......Page 573
The Buddhist Understanding of Death......Page 576
After-Death States in Tibetan Buddhism......Page 579
The Consolations of Religion......Page 580
Secular Concepts of Immortality......Page 581
Near-Death Experiences: At the Threshold of Death......Page 583
NDEs: A Composite Picture......Page 584
Dimensions of Near-Death Experiences......Page 585
Interpreting Near-Death Experiences......Page 587
Death Themes in Dreams and Psychedelic Experiences......Page 591
Beliefs About Death: A Wall or a Door?......Page 594
Further Readings......Page 595
CHAPTER 15 The Path Ahead: Personal and Social Choices......Page 598
Exploring Death and Dying......Page 599
Cultural Competence......Page 601
New Directions in Thanatology......Page 603
Gaining a Global Perspective......Page 605
Bridging Research and Practice......Page 609
Creating Compassionate Cities......Page 610
Living with Death and Dying......Page 613
Humanizing Death and Dying......Page 614
Defining the Good Death......Page 616
Death in the Future......Page 620
Postscript and Farewell......Page 625
Further Readings......Page 626
Epilogue......Page 628
Notes......Page 630
Credits and Sources......Page 700
B......Page 706
C......Page 707
D......Page 708
F......Page 709
G......Page 710
I......Page 711
K......Page 712
M......Page 713
N......Page 714
P......Page 715
S......Page 716
V......Page 718
Z......Page 719
C......Page 722
D......Page 723
H......Page 724
N......Page 725
S......Page 726
W......Page 727
Y......Page 728