Maturation of concepts of death

Bereaved children

“…There is some evidence (Maurer, 1966;Moriarity, 1967;Kastenbaum & Aisenberg, 1972) that even the infant is working at an understanding of the concept of death. Maurer (1966) contends that the healthy three-month-old infant experiments with the states of being and non-being through delight in such games as peek-a-boo.…”

“…At this age the child begins to adjust to the idea that death is final, inevitable, universal and personal (Kastenbaum, 1967). Both Maurer (1966) and Nagy (Kastenbaum & Aisenberg, 1972;Koocher, 1974) note that children between the ages of 5 and 9 generally personify death. Kastenbaum (1967) refers to a study which measured the five-year-old's emotional reactions to "death words", as reflected by galvanic skin responses.…”

“…Maurer (1966) contends that the healthy three-month-old infant experiments with the states of being and non-being through delight in such games as peek-a-boo. There are, however, developmentalists who disagree with this viewpoint (Anthony, 1940).…”

Group intervention for teachers in time of war

“…Research provides evidence that by hiding the basic facts adults do not protect their children but on the contrary prevent their developing the personal resources necessary to cope with these phenomena. In this way they encourage the flourishing of irrational reactions, hidden fantasies, and all kinds of disturbances (Maurer, 1966;Wahl, 1958;Yudkin, 1969).…”

A realistic perspective on death

“…j . A large number of studies deal with the development of death concepts and have produced findings that suggest concepts of death develop in orderly stages, i.e., according to maturational level or chronological ages (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Other studies report that environmental factors such as socioeconomic background, parents' educational level, the "milieu" of the home, and personal experience importantly affect children's understanding of death (12-18).…”