Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and the “Five Stages” Model in a Sampling of Recent Textbooks Published in 10 Countries Outside the United States

Abstract

A previous article in this journal examined some aspects of the enduring influence of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s “five stages” model through a sampling of recent American textbooks in selected academic disciplines and professional fields. This article offers a parallel sampling of 47 textbooks published in 10 different countries outside the United States. The questions to be answered are as follows: Does the “five stages” model appear without significant change in the textbooks described here? Is the “five stages” model applied in these textbooks to issues involving loss, grief, and bereavement as well as to those involving terminal illness and dying? Is the “five stages” model criticized in some or all of these textbooks? If so, is the criticism sufficient to argue that, while the “five stages” model might be presented as an important historical framework, it should no longer be regarded as a sound theory to guide contemporary education and practice?