Question

3. One of the most difficult things discussed in Chapter 19 OF hdev is the loss of a loved one and the grieving process. The textbook provides you with a variety of grief stage theories. When you sit back and examine the grief theories, what do you see as the limitations of each of the theories? What are the major strengths of the theories? Please identify the one theory that you think is most accurate and describe it to the class. Why do you think it's most accurate? After reading all of the theory and research, when it comes down to it, do you think there is just one way to grieve the loss of a loved one?

Answer 1

The Kubler Ross Theory of death and dying: Kubler-Ross theory describes the stages a person goes through when they know that they are going to die.

i. Denial- The person is not able to accept the fact that they are going to die and they straight away deny it.It is too much to come to terms with this fact at this stage.

ii. Anger- When they know that it is real and it is going to happen, they get angry and start questioning that why it only them and not anyone else.

iii. Bargaining- Negotiating with god to extend their life, and in return they would reform themselves to be a better person

iv. Depression- After negotiating and denying, the individual comes to the realization that the inevitable is going to arrive soon and feels a sense of despair, this causes depression.

v. Acceptance- People accept their fate and the fact that nothing can be done about it. They may become calm and emotionally stable at this stage.

Strengths:

• It helps people identify the stage they are going through and gives them awareness of their own condition
• The stages provide people with a sense of comfort that they are not alone in this and other people also go through these stages.
• The feelings and emotions which a person goes through can be overwhelming and this model gives them reassurance that it normal to go through these stages.

Weaknesses

• ?It has been argued that the Kubler Ross theory is not supported by empirical research and the validity of the theory is questionable.
• There is also no research evidence that people go through one stage after another as described in this model.
• There may be individual differences in the experience of these stages and environmental factors may also play a role.

The kubler ross theory is a stage theory and doesn't take into considerations many other factors which a contextual theory provides. This theory does not give an understanding of exactly how and why the stages happen and what makes a person move from one stage to another. There have be great differences in the way people cope and deal with death and there may not a be just single way. The duration each person spends in each stage also varies a lot.