Death at the End of the 20th Century: Individual Processes and Developmental Tasks in Old Age

Abstract

In this article, we address the topic of death from historic and contemporary perspectives. In the first section, we describe the changes in life expectancy, personal experience, and public awareness of death that have occurred over the past century. In the next section, we examine the impact these changes have had on the mastery of the two developmental tasks in adulthood, acceptance of one's own mortality and coping with the death of a spouse. We describe select findings from the literature on attitudes, fear or acceptance of death, and grief processes. Implications for research, practice, and social change are considered.