Wished for and avoided conversations with terminally ill individuals during final conversations

ABSTRACT

The current investigation examines retrospectively wished for and avoided conversations during the end of life with a deceased relational partner. Participants reported on conversations they wished they had engaged in and conversations that they intentionally avoided, as well as reasons why they did not engage in the conversations. Analyses revealed the following wished for and avoided conversations: negative relationship characteristics; death and dying; postdeath arrangements; and personal information. Furthermore, participants indicated the following reasons for not discussing the aforementioned topics during final conversations: emotional protection, relational differences, and condition of the dying. Theoretical and practical implications for end-of-life communication are discussed.

Notes

²According to Knight et al. (2000), who collected data on first death experiences, 56% of their sample reported on the death of a relative (e.g., grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, etc.). This finding illustrates that death experiences tend to be with older relatives, which is what our current sample highlights as well. However, as discussed, this indicates a need for future research to examine potential differences in FCs and EOL communication based on relationship type.