Representations of death and mourning in the life cicle

The aim of this study was to investigate representations of death and mourning in different age groups. We interviewed 22 individuals, including children, young adults, middle-aged adults and seniors. The group of children, requested the preparation of drawings and other participants were interviewed, and the statements recorded and analyzed qualitatively under the thematic analysis of Minayo (1994). The representation of death and mourning was heterogeneous. For children death process was characterized as a nonnormative event, represented by urban violence and transgression of social norms. The young adults conceive death as something transcendent and mourning as an expression of loss. The middle-aged adults, however, signaled respect for the grieving process and referred to death as finitude, loss of hope. Since the older adults have highlighted the extent of its own finitude.