A Psychosocial Aspect of Terminal Care: Anticipatory Grief 1

Death in contemporary society is increasingly an experience of the aged. Of the 2 million persons who will die in the United States this year, almost two-thirds of them (62 percent) will be 65 years of age or over, although this age group represents only 9 percent of the total population. Children under the age of 15, on the other hand, account for 29 percent of the total United States population but only 5.5 percent of the total deaths. ² This is in sharp contrast to the mortality statistics in 1900, for instance, when proportionally, far more children died. At that time, children under the age of 15 accounted for 34 percent of the population—approximately the same proportion as today—but this age group accounted for 53 percent of the total deaths. In the same year, persons age 65 and over accounted for 4 percent of the total population, and 17 percent of all deaths. ³ These changes in mortality statistics are further reflected in life-expectancy figures. A person born in 1900 had a life-expectancy of 47.3 years, whereas a person born in 1967 could expect to live 70.5 years. ⁴