Several studies have shown that the symptoms of grief are different from symptoms of depression among bereaved family members. This study is an attempt to replicate this finding among advanced cancer patients and examine clinical correlates of patient grief and depression. Analyses were conducted on data from interviews with 123 advanced cancer…

This article presents a summary of recent crisis management publications. The first research report summarized, "Predictors of PTSD," was a study of predictor variables for responses to the World Trade Center attack. The second paper, "Effective Mental Health Response to Catastrophic Events," looked at effective responses following Hurricane…

Loneliness is a universal phenomenon, and its pain is intensified by a diagnosis of a terminal illness. The present study is an investigation of the strategies used by patients with Multiple sclerosis (MS), by individuals diagnosed with cancer, and by the general population to cope with loneliness. Three hundred and twenty nine MS patients, 315…

Examined responses of 1,110 terminally ill persons with cancer at varying time periods prior to death. Disengagement and Objective Self-Awareness theories, which suggest that people nearing death would increase desire to separate from others, were not supported. Found few differences in responses of persons further from, or closer to, death.…

Examined relationships among death anxiety, disclosure behaviors, and attitudes toward terminal care of 99 oncologists. Found death anxiety scores lower for oncologists than typically reported for physicians. Short-term repeated exposure to dying patients resulted in comfort with dying patients whereas long-term repeated exposure resulted in…

Reports on abandoned study examining potential benefits of psychotherapy to terminal cancer patients. Preliminary feasibility study found physicians' attitudes toward their dying patients as reformed and progressive. Interest shown by physicians did not translate into tangible research effort in spite of active pursuit by investigator over period…

Couples in which one spouse had terminal cancer reported expressions of love, marriage problems, and commitment to each other after diagnosis of cancer and before diagnosis. Cancer group reported expressing more love to each other after diagnosis and more love than comparison group of healthy subjects. Cancer couples were less committed to each…

Interviewed 100 terminally ill cancer patients to examine farewells made before the interview and those desired and planned but not yet completed. Most patients (81 percent) desired to farewell; most wanted farewell to occur late in course of their dying. Prominent in preferred styles of farewells were the gift, conversation, and letter.…

Conducted pilot survey of 64 patients with late stage malignancy who had signed living wills. Found that 70.3 percent were grateful for opportunity to sign living will and maintain autonomy over their terminal care, 20.3 percent were either apparently indifferent or unwilling to discuss issue, and 9.4 percent appeared disturbed by their signing of…

Compared quality of life of terminal cancer patients (n=182) in two palliative care units with that of those in general hospital. Patients in specialized palliative care units were found to differ from those dying in hospital, showing less indirectly expressed anger but more positive feelings. They also reported more anxiety about death but less…

Examined coping and family adaptation in siblings (n=32) of cancer patients, their ill brothers and sisters (n=19), and control group of nonclinical children (n=10) with healthy siblings. Gender and age of sibling, birth order, and number of siblings were examined. Found better adaptation in larger families and decreased family involvement among…

Undergraduates (n=296) read a fictional vignette concerning a person diagnosed with either terminal cancer or AIDS, and for varying lengths of time. Student reactions indicated that a person with AIDS is associated with greater stigma than a person with another fatal disease, regardless of how long ago the diagnosis was made. (JPS)

Investigated behavioral adjustment of 61 children (ages 4-16) during terminal illness and first year following sibling's death from cancer. Collected data from parents and teachers using Child Behavior Checklist. Results indicated that bereaved siblings demonstrated significantly higher levels of behavior problems and significantly lower social…

College students (n=228) completed a suicide ideation questionnaire and read one of 4 scenarios: cancer, AIDS, schizophrenia, and depression. People in the cancer and AIDS scenario were viewed as the most justified in committing suicide. Suicide ideators saw the people in the scenarios as justified in committing suicide more often than did…

Purpose: This study explored the psychosocial dynamics of short hospice stays (less than 2 weeks) of cancer patients age 65 and older. Design and Methods: In-depth interviews with 59 caregivers of 50 patients were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded by using Atlas ti software. Results: A descriptive typology is presented. A late diagnosis (n = 22…