Examined relationship betwen attitude toward death and the terminal patient and communication with terminally ill in 103 medical students and 15 family physicians. Relationships were found between indices (Terminal Illness Questionnaire, Threat Index) and factors used in determining whether to reveal a terminal diagnosis. (Author/NRB)

Examines relationship conclusion with the dying and describes the development of the Interaction with the Dying Measurement. Students (N=455) were asked to imagine communicating with a dying person. Results showed different interaction patterns with intimate and casual acquaintances. (JAC)

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.…

Administered measures of generalized communication apprehension (CA), communication regarding the dying (CA-Dying), and death anxiety to 29 persons in a hospice volunteer training program and 30 persons on a hospice mailing list. Results suggest the CA-Dying scale possesses adequate reliability and validity to serve as useful index of difficulties…

Examined parental coping strategies in dealing with infant death and explored whether discordant parental coping was associated with communication difficulties. Results from 27 couples who had experienced death of an infant revealed that mothers and fathers used similar coping strategies; mothers did use seeking social support, escape-avoidance…

College students (n=141) rated 30 potentially comforting remarks which might be made to recently bereaved person, having been told that death was either natural and anticipated, natural and unanticipated, suicide, homicide, or accident. Six of 30 responses varied significantly in helpfulness ratings depending upon type of death. Least helpful…