Current Research in Children's Conceptions of Death: A Critical Review

Abstract

After almost 60 years of research, how children come to understand death and what factors contribute to this development continue to generate interest. This paper critically reviews published research since the early 1980s, with a specific focus on the development of components of the death concept in children. Studies are reviewed with respect to the effects of age, cognitive development, type of object inquired about, culture and SES, experience with death, and emotional factors on the development of children's understanding of death. While these studies indicate that by 10 years of age most children have mastered the components of irreversibility, universality, non-functionality, personal mortality, and causality, acquisition of individual components appears to be differentially affected by several factors. Cognitive development, verbal ability, and cultural and religious experiences appear to influence the acquisition of abstract components such as universality. Direct experience appears to affect the acquisition of physically-based components, such as non-functionality and irreversibility. In addition, the components appear to have different developmental trajectories. Emotional factors appear to play a significant role in how children respond to questions about death and might be highly influential in the development of their understanding of death. Directions for future research are presented with attention to theoretical issues and the ongoing methodological problems in the study of children's conceptions of death.

O conceito de morte e a Síndrome de Asperger

“…Os estudos de Kenyon (2001), Jenkins & Cavanaugh (1985) e Nunes et al (1998) caracterizam a ideia de "sentido" como um dos elementos primordiais no desenvolvimento do conceito de morte.…”

“…Para isso, três dimensões são fundamentais: a irreversibilidade quanto ao caráter definitivo da morte; a universalidade quanto ao fato de que ocorrerá com todos; e a não funcionalidade quanto à compreensão de que todas as funções definidoras da vida cessam com a morte (Speece & Brent, 1984) . Kenyon (2001), investigando o conceito de morte nas crianças, refere diversos pontos incongruentes. A universalidade, irreversibilidade, não funcionalidade e mortalidade pessoal em geral seriam conceitos alcançados após os 10 anos de idade em virtude da aquisição do pensamento formal.…”

That isn't really how it works

“…Kenyon (2001) argues that young children, in their immature concrete thinking stage, imagine the dead as relocated in a real place connected to the world. A more mature view of the afterlife assumes disconnection and that the dead cannot 'really' engage with the living.…”

Two homes that used to be one: What has grief got to do with it?

“…Since Nagy's work took place, other studies have found more variation in these age ranges, dependent on the cognitive and emotional development of the child (Kenyon, 2001). …”

“…However, children in this age range will personify death as the 'death-man', or the 'grim reaper', an entity that comes and takes your life away, rather than a natural progression of life, also noted by other writers (Goldman, 2014;Slaughter, 2005). Only in the third stage, at approximately nine years of age and upwards, will children come to realise that death is both personal (it will happen to them) and universal (all animals and people will die), and both final and unavoidable.Since Nagy's work took place, other studies have found more variation in these age ranges, dependent on the cognitive and emotional development of the child (Kenyon, 2001). …”