Q&A Hero

Q: Effective interventions for children and adolescents following violent deaths A) include reexposure to the incident to help them confront their fears. B) deemphasize loss-oriented activities and focus on restoration-oriented activities. C) assist parents and teachers with their own distress so they can effectively offer comfort. D) deemphasize restoration-oriented activities and focus on loss-oriented activities.

Q: Research suggests that group bereavement intervention sessions are best suited for __________, whereas an individually tailored approach works best for __________. A) reorganizing daily life; resolving grief B) confronting grief; resolving grief C) resolving grief; confronting grief D) confronting grief; reorganizing daily life

Q: At Chyna's mother's funeral, eulogies and music were designed to trigger release of deep emotion. Grief was expressed freely. Chyna's family is most likely A) Quaker. B) Balinese. C) African American. D) Jewish.

Q: Ceremonies that commemorate death A) are strikingly different in various cultures. B) help mourners achieve control and avoid expressing their grief. C) are highly similar across cultures. D) are traditionally held three days after death.

Q: Isabella's mother died in May and her sister died in November. Isabella is at risk for A) anticipatory grieving. B) disenfranchised grief. C) bereavement overload. D) unestablished bereavement.

Q: Marion was forbidden by his gay partner's family to attend his partner's funeral or burial service. Marion is at risk for A) anticipatory grieving. B) disenfranchised grief. C) bereavement overload. D) unestablished bereavement.

Q: Geraldine's husband died two years ago, just after she turned 81. Which of the following statements about Geraldine is most likely true? A) Geraldine displays many negative outcomes. B) The loss of her husband profoundly disrupted Geraldine's life plans. C) After a period of intense grieving, Geraldine is faring well. D) Geraldine is experiencing disenfranchised grief.

Q: Grief-stricken teenagers are A) usually more willing than school-age children to confide in parents. B) less likely than school-age children to escape from grief through acting-out behavior. C) more likely than school-age children to become depressed. D) more likely to adjust favorably if they are protected from the details of the death.

Q: Which of the following statements about children grieving the loss of a parent or sibling is true? A) Children grieving the loss of a parent or sibling suffer fewer physical symptoms than adults grieving the loss of a partner or child. B) Many children say they actively maintain mental contact with their dead parent or sibling, dreaming about and speaking to them regularly. C) Typically, children experience physical symptoms of grief for a few weeks and then experience more internal symptoms. D) In follow-up studies, children report that they rarely think about the deceased parent or sibling after one to three years.

Q: The death of a sibling not only deprives children of a close emotional tie, but also informs them A) that life is random. B) of their own vulnerability. C) that their sense of security is threatened. D) of spiritual connections.

Q: The death of a __________ is the most difficult loss an adult can face. A) spouse B) parent C) sibling D) child

Q: Compared with survivors of other sudden deaths, people grieving a suicidal loss are more likely to A) experience disenfranchised grief. B) conclude that they could have prevented the death. C) engage in anticipatory grieving. D) recover more quickly.

Q: Adjusting to a sudden death is easier when the survivor A) understands the reasons for it. B) does not have to watch the loved one suffer. C) believes that it was random. D) assumes that it was preventable.

Q: Following prolonged dying, survivors may A) feel more overwhelmed immediately following the death. B) display more persistent anxiety due to long-term stressors. C) experience pronounced avoidance. D) feel unexplained anger toward the deceased.

Q: During prolonged dying, the bereaved person has had time to engage in A) accommodation. B) mourning. C) confrontation. D) anticipatory grieving.

Q: In instances of sudden, unexpected deaths, __________ may be especially pronounced. A) avoidance B) confrontation C) mourning D) restoration

Q: Compared with bereaved women, bereaved men A) typically express distress more directly. B) typically seek social support less readily. C) have a lower mortality rate. D) typically express depression more directly.

Q: Which of the following statements about the dual-process model of coping with loss is true? A) Effective coping requires people to shift their focus inward, shutting out the outside stressors of ordinary life. B) Confronting grief without relief is the most mentally healthy approach to bereavement. C) Consistent with the dual-process model, survivors who attend to loss-oriented, rather than restoration-oriented, activities move through the bereavement process most successfully. D) Effective coping requires people to oscillate between dealing with the emotional consequences of loss and attending to life changes.

Q: During the __________ phase of the grieving process, the bereaved deals with stressors that are secondary outcomes of death. A) avoidance B) confrontation C) restoration D) mourning

Q: Grief is most intense during the __________ phase of the grieving process. A) avoidance B) confrontation C) restoration D) mourning

Q: When Mrs. Broadwell heard the news that her father had died, she felt numbness and disbelief. She was not certain that the nurse was correct in her assessment. Mrs. Broadwell is in which phase of the grieving process? A) avoidance B) confrontation C) restoration D) mourning

Q: When Mr. Bergman's wife died, his family members and friends dressed in black, attended a funeral, and participated in a burial service. Mr. Bergman covered all of the mirrors in his house with a black cloth. He was experiencing A) bereavement. B) grief. C) mourning. D) morbidity.

Q: When Mr. Wellenkamp's wife died, he responded with intense physical and psychological distress. He was experiencing A) bereavement. B) grief. C) mourning. D) morbidity.

Q: People respond to __________ with __________. A) bereavement; grief B) grief; bereavement C) mourning; bereavement D) death education; anxiety or indifference

Q: Bereavement is A) the response to the loss of a loved one. B) the experience of losing a loved one by death. C) the culturally specified expression of thoughts and feelings after a death. D) intense physical and psychological distress.

Q: Doctors practicing in regions where assisted suicide is legal should make sure which of the following conditions is met before engaging in it? A) The patient lives in an area with limited or no access to palliative care. B) The patient's financial pressures are too great to continue a course of treatment. C) Both the patient and a health-care proxy must give written consent for the practice. D) The patient has full decision-making capacity and requests assisted suicide voluntarily.

Q: Nearly _____ percent of Americans approve of assisted suicide for terminally ill patients in great pain. A) 30 B) 40 C) 50 D) 60

Q: The U.S. Supreme Court's decision involving Oregon's Death with Dignity Act A) explicitly allows physicians to prescribe drugs so terminally ill patients can end their lives. B) bans assisted suicide in all 50 U.S. states. C) leaves the question of the legality of assisted suicide up to the states. D) favors assisted suicide in Oregon, and rejects the rights of other states to ban the practice.

Q: Assisting a suicide is illegal in A) Switzerland. B) all U.S. states. C) Belgium. D) most, but not all, U.S. states.

Q: Which of the following statements about euthanasia in the Netherlands is true? A) Euthanasia is most often performed with older, physically healthy patients who are "weary of life." B) Euthanasia is performed by over 50 percent of doctors, most often with cancer patients. C) Voluntary active euthanasia has decreased steadily over the past decade. D) Euthanasia is no longer legal because assemblies do not have the right to legislate intentional killing.

Q: When euthanasia legislation passed in Australia's Northern Territory, the Aborigines A) regarded it as culturally inappropriate. B) advocated the practice because it had been part of their culture for generations. C) praised the new law as compassionate. D) accepted the practice for older adults but not younger individuals.

Q: In the United States and other Western nations, when doctors engage in voluntary active euthanasia, A) about 70 percent of the population disapproves. B) judges are usually strict, sentencing them to jail terms. C) they often do so without the patient's consent. D) judges are usually lenient, granting suspended sentences or probation.

Q: Which of the following individuals is the most likely to support voluntary active euthanasia? A) Goran, a man from Croatia B) Katia, a woman from Romania C) Helen, a woman from Poland D) Greg, a man from the United States

Q: Voluntary active euthanasia is A) not a criminal offense in most countries. B) a criminal offense in almost all U.S. states. C) covered under most private insurance plans. D) available to all terminally ill patients in the United States.

Q: Health-care proxies A) are appointed under living wills. B) cannot make medical decisions for patients in persistent vegetative states. C) are an important means of covering children and adolescents. D) are expensive and, therefore, only available to higher-SES patients.

Q: Which of the following statements about advance medical directives is true? A) The durable power of attorney for health care cannot anticipate all future medical conditions and, thus, the living will is more flexible. B) The durable power of attorney can ensure a partner's role in decision making and in advocating for the patient's health-care needs. C) People who do not support passive euthanasia do not need advance medical directives. D) In all U.S. states, failure to provide an advance medical directive now results in the appointment of a health-care proxy.

Q: Mrs. Bernstein's attorney prepared a written document in which Mrs. Bernstein authorized her daughter to make health-care decisions on her behalf. Mrs. Bernstein's document is a(n) A) durable power of attorney for health care. B) living will. C) health-care plan. D) euthanasia directive.

Q: In a living will, A) patients can require doctors to follow their wishes with regard to life-sustaining interventions. B) people can anticipate all future medical conditions and state their wishes in each case. C) people specify the treatments they do or do not want in case of a terminal illness, coma, or other near-death situation. D) people appoint a friend or relative to act as their proxy health-care decision maker.

Q: Which of the following statements about advance medical directives is true? A) They are not recognized in the United States or Canada. B) U.S. states recognize two types of advance directives: a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care. C) They guarantee personal control for terminally ill patients and those in persistent vegetative states. D) A living will is more flexible than a durable power of attorney for health care.

Q: At the patient's request, Dr. Abbott turns off the respirator of a patient who cannot breathe independently. Dr. Abbott's use of passive euthanasia is A) widely practiced as part of ordinary medical procedure. B) an unusual procedure that must be court ordered. C) immoral, unethical, and rarely used in the United States. D) permissible only for patients who are in intense pain and suffering.

Q: When a doctor ends a suffering patient's life without the patient's permission, the doctor is practicing A) involuntary active euthanasia. B) assisted suicide. C) voluntary active euthanasia. D) passive euthanasia.

Q: Dr. Summers helps terminally ill patients take their own lives by enabling the patients to swallow or inject a lethal dose of drugs. Dr. Summers practices A) involuntary euthanasia. B) assisted suicide. C) voluntary active euthanasia. D) passive euthanasia.

Q: Which of the following statements about the right to die in the United States is true? A) The right to die was of greater concern before the 1950s because vaccinations had not yet eradicated many terminal illnesses. B) No uniform right-to-die policy exists. C) The Quinlan and Schiavo cases created federal right-to-die legislation. D) No U.S. states have laws that honor patients' wishes concerning withdrawal of treatment in cases of a persistent vegetative state.

Q: A recent study showed that music vigils for dying patients result in A) increased wakefulness. B) more effortful breathing. C) reduced anxiety. D) increased stimulation in the hippocampus.

Q: Music thanatology A) focuses on providing palliative care to the dying through music. B) can actually increase anxiety about impending death. C) is practiced more in Eastern than in Western cultures. D) works only on those who are heavily medicated.

Q: Reggie is a 74-year-old U.S. hospice patient. Reggie will most likely die in A) his own home. B) a hospice inpatient unit. C) a nursing home. D) a typical hospital room.

Q: Which of the following statements about hospice care is true? A) On-call services are usually available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. B) Hospice programs do not typically provide respite care. C) Follow-up bereavement services are offered to families in the year after a death. D) The benefits of hospice care have not been verified through research.

Q: Palliative care involves A) care aimed at relieving pain and other symptoms. B) life-saving measures such as respirators. C) emergency room treatment. D) home care or an inpatient setting with a homelike atmosphere.

Q: When their mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the Johnson family chose a comprehensive program of support services that provided an interdisciplinary care team. The team emphasized quality of life. The Johnson family chose A) home care. B) an intensive care unit. C) the hospice approach. D) a long-term care facility.

Q: Which of the following statements about nursing homes is true? A) Care emphasizes rehabilitation rather than high-quality terminal care. B) Residents' end-of-life preferences are recorded in medical charts. C) Pain management education is given to staff, residents, and family members. D) Medical treatment is focused on high-quality terminal care.

Q: Few U.S. doctors are specially trained in A) handling patients with AIDS. B) managing pain in chronically ill and dying people. C) gerontology. D) thanatology.

Q: Cancer patients, who account for most cases of prolonged dying, typically die in A) intensive care wards. B) emergency rooms. C) cancer care hospital units. D) home settings.

Q: Which of the following statements about dying in intensive care is true? A) It allows the family privacy with the patient. B) It provides for quality communication with the family regarding the patient's needs. C) It is especially depersonalizing for the patient. D) It allows the patient to die with dignity.

Q: Mr. Willet had a sudden heart attack. He died in a hospital emergency room. The staff was very busy and had little time for contact with his family. Mr. Willet's family members may need A) medication to help them with anxiety. B) hospice services. C) to enter a comprehensive treatment program. D) some type of crisis intervention services.

Q: Which of the following statements about a home death is true? A) It is usually less physically taxing on family members than a hospital death. B) Families usually need a specially trained home health aide to provide support for the caregiver. C) Even when family relationships are conflict-ridden, dying at home is best. D) Family members who experience a home death usually report less stress than those who experience a hospital death.

Q: The preference of __________ percent of Americans is to die at home. A) 40 to 50 B) 50 to 60 C) 70 to 80 D) 80 to 90

Q: Most Americans say they hope to die A) at home. B) in a nursing home. C) in a family member's home. D) in a hospital.

Q: In the United States today, about _____ percent of deaths take place in hospitals. A) 30 B) 40 C) 50 D) 60

Q: When Al lay dying, relatives and friends gathered around him to give spiritual strength and comfort. Older adults and clergy conducted a karakia ceremony, in which they recited prayers asking for peace, mercy, and guidance. Al is most likely a(n) A) African American. B) Native American. C) Buddhist. D) member of the Maori tribe.

Q: Tom remained an active and vital force within his family until he could no longer carry out that role. Tom's illness was viewed as a crisis that united family members in caregiving. Tom is most likely a(n) A) African American. B) Native American. C) Buddhist. D) member of the Maori tribe.

Q: In many Native American groups, A) death is met with stoic self-control. B) dying people believe that it is possible to reach a state beyond the world of suffering. C) an illness is viewed as a crisis that unites family members. D) a karakia ceremony is conducted to ask the creator for peace.

Q: Pat's relatives read sutras to him to calm his mind and emphasized that dying leads to rebirth in a heaven of peace and relaxation. Pat is most likely a(n) A) African American. B) Native American. C) Buddhist. D) member of the Maori tribe.

Q: Once patients near death stop expressing hope, those close to them A) should encourage them to hope for a cure. B) should encourage them to hope for a miracle. C) must accept this. D) must maintain hope for a miracle.

Q: As they move through a hope trajectory, many dying patients first hope for A) a cure. B) prolonging life. C) strength. D) a peaceful death.

Q: Extensive experience working with dying patients in a sensitive, supportive environment is associated with A) high death anxiety. B) low death anxiety. C) late retirement. D) early retirement.

Q: Mr. Hyun is dying. Because of their cultural beliefs, his Korean-American family will probably A) avoid informing him of his condition because doing so hastens death. B) forbid the doctors to talk to him about his condition because it will bring bad fortune to the family. C) pretend there is nothing wrong in an attempt to prevent unnecessary stress. D) talk openly and honestly about his condition, so that he can focus on resolving family conflicts before he dies.

Q: Which of the following ethnic groups does not believe in telling terminally ill patients about their condition because dying disrupts important interdependent relationships? A) Mexican B) Australian C) Middle Eastern D) Japanese

Q: Family members who __________ can make dying more difficult for a patient. A) are brutally candid B) play the denial "game" C) question medical personnel D) do not believe in an afterlife

Q: __________ individuals are usually more distressed during the dying process. A) Religious B) Nonreligious C) Poorly adjusted D) Older

Q: When he was dying of cancer, Mr. Babcock, a lifelong bird watcher, stated, "Whenever I feel the pain or cannot catch my breath, I travel to the woods in my mind and search for the red-winged blackbird." Mr. Babcock views dying as A) a mandate to live ever more fully. B) imprisonment. C) part of life's journey. D) an experience to be transformed.

Q: While Marie's mother lay dying, she told Marie, "I"m not afraid. I have faith. I"m looking forward to what lies ahead." Marie's mother views dying as A) a mandate to live ever more fully. B) imprisonment. C) part of life's journey. D) an experience to be transformed.

Q: Ruth regards death as a mandate to live ever more fully. In discussing her images of dying, Ruth is most likely to say, A) "In a way, I feel like I"m already dead." B) "After reading everything I could about my disease, I realized for the first time in my life I can handle anything." C) "I"ve looked death in the eye, and now I"m really living." D) "When I start to think too much about my illness, I recite the lyrics to my favorite songs."

Q: Mr. Tamagatchi is dying. He says, "I feel like I"m watching a ticking time bomb ... like there is no future." Mr. Tamagatchi views dying as A) imprisonment. B) a mandate to live ever more fully. C) part of life's journey. D) an experience to be transformed.

Q: __________ amplifies pain, impairs the immune response, interferes with the patient's capacity for pleasure, meaning, and connection, and is associated with poorer survival. A) Profound depression B) Denial C) Anger D) Bargaining

Q: Before Mr. Monk died, he was able to restore his relationship with his brother. Mr. Monk's death made sense in terms of his pattern of living and values. He experienced a(n) __________ death. A) passive B) active C) ideal D) appropriate

Q: The most serious drawback to Kbler-Ross's theory of dying is that it A) looks at dying patients' thoughts and feelings outside the contexts that give them meaning. B) was based on only a few interviews with dying people. C) cannot be applied to people who die unexpectedly. D) applies only to people who are not religious.

Q: The five reactions Kbler-Ross observed are best viewed as A) a fixed sequence. B) stages of denial. C) coping strategies that anyone may call on in the face of threat. D) maladaptive, emotion-centered coping strategies.

Q: Research confirms that, in line with Kbler-Ross's observations, A) dying people are more likely to display denial after learning of their condition. B) all dying people display five responses to death. C) a normal dying person follows through the five stages in sequence. D) dying people react in predictable ways.

Q: Most people who reach Kbler-Ross's acceptance stage A) use emotion-centered coping strategies. B) have a deep religious faith. C) disengage from all but a few family members. D) do so soon after learning of their condition.

Q: According to Kbler-Ross, most people who reach acceptance A) avoid discussions with doctors and family members to escape from the prospect of death. B) realize the inevitability of death but attempt to bargain for extra time. C) do so only in the last weeks or days before death. D) become despondent and depressed in the last days before death.