Conceptions of death in mentally retarded persons.

Retarded subjects (N=79, mean age 19.9 years, mean IQ 61.9) were given a series of Piagetian tasks and interviewed to determine their degree of understanding of death. Age was not significantly related to an understanding of death of any of the measures. However, Piagetian cognitive levels were significantly related to a more realistic comprehension of death on three measures, indicating that cognitive development is related to an increasingly complex understanding of death by the mentally retarded person.