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Five Stages of Grief (Kübler-Ross Model)

🧠 Psychology By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated
Quick answer: the Kübler-Ross model says people facing death move through denial, anger, bargaining and depression toward acceptance. Not everyone experiences every stage or in this order.
Contents
  1. 1. Background
  2. 2. The five stages
  3. 3. Use and criticism
  4. 4. References

Background

Swiss-born psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross interviewed about 200 dying patients at the University of Chicago hospitals and published On Death and Dying (1969), urging clinicians to listen to patients' feelings about death.

The five stages

  • Denial: "This can't be happening" - a temporary buffer against shock.
  • Anger: "Why me?" - often aimed at family or staff.
  • Bargaining: trying to strike a deal for more time.
  • Depression: deep sadness as the loss becomes real.
  • Acceptance: a calmer readiness for what is coming.

Use and criticism

The model shaped the hospice movement and palliative-care training. Empirical studies, however, find that stages often do not appear in order or at all, and critics warn against treating them as a required path. Kübler-Ross later said the stages are not linear.

References

  1. Kübler-Ross, E. (1969). On Death and Dying. Macmillan.
  2. Kübler-Ross, E., & Kessler, D. (2005). On Grief and Grieving. Scribner.
  3. Maciejewski, P. K., Zhang, B., Block, S. D., & Prigerson, H. G. (2007). An empirical examination of the stage theory of grief. JAMA, 297(7), 716-723.

Reports and materials that use this theory (Korean)

There are no materials dedicated to this theory yet, but you can search related reports in the CampusDown library (Korean).

Find more reports · Search '죽음 수용 5단계' on CampusDown →
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This article was last updated on October 15, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.