This qualitative study of nine women examined the changes in their everyday lives as they cared for their terminally-ill husbands and after their husbands died. It also studied how the women coped with these changes, and how their coping contributed to their identity change from wife to widow. Symbolic interaction was utilized to study the changes…

A cross-sectional sample of three-generation families was used to evaluate life-sustaining medical treatment attitudes and decision factors. Results show that the older generation perceived mental capacity, family burden, and pain as most important considerations. Among the middle generation the type of life-sustaining treatment was important. The…