Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Death takes a raincheck.

Judith A Skala1, Kenneth E Freedland

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. skalaj@bmc.wustl.edu

Psychosomatic Medicine
|June 9, 2004
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

'We're not going to start lifting stones now…': Stakeholder perspectives on the role of psychometric methods in outcome measurement.

The British journal of clinical psychology·2026
Same author

Type 2 diabetes outcomes in patients with Posttraumatic stress disorder and psychiatric comorbidity.

Diabetes research and clinical practice·2026
Same author

Patient-reported substance use in heart failure.

Heart & lung : the journal of critical care·2025
Same author

Validation of a two-item short form of the perceived health competence scale.

Journal of patient-reported outcomes·2025
Same author

Do complex psychometric analyses really matter? Comparing multiple approaches using individual participant data from antidepressant trials.

Psychological medicine·2025
Same author

Psychiatric multimorbidity in heart failure.

Journal of psychosomatic research·2025

Research shows no convincing evidence that psychological factors like "giving up" influence the timing of death around important occasions. Studies on temporal variation in mortality rates around holidays and birthdays have yielded inconclusive results.

Area of Science:

  • Mortality research
  • Psychological science
  • Public health

Background:

  • Symbolically important occasions, such as holidays and birthdays, are often anecdotally associated with changes in mortality patterns.
  • Previous research has explored potential links between psychological states and the timing of death.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review existing research on temporal variations in mortality rates surrounding significant life events.
  • To evaluate the evidence for psychological influences on the timing of death.

Main Methods:

  • A qualitative literature review was conducted.
  • The review encompassed studies published since the early 1970s investigating mortality patterns around important occasions.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • At least 18 studies examined mortality rates before, during, or after symbolically important occasions.
  • While some studies suggested modest temporal effects, methodological limitations cast doubt on most positive findings.
  • No direct evidence was found for psychophysiological mechanisms allowing individuals to control the timing of their death.

Conclusions:

  • Decades of research have not provided robust evidence that psychological phenomena, such as "giving up" or "holding on," can alter the timing of death.
  • The influence of psychological factors on mortality timing remains an unproven hypothesis.