Children's Conceptions of Death

Abstract

WHITE, EDWARD; ELSOM, BILL; and PRAWAT, RICHARD. Children's Conceptions of Death. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1978, 49, 307-310. This study investigated children's conceptions of death from a developmental perspective. Kindergarten through fourth graders (N = 170) were tested for conservation and then interviewed following the presentation of a story about an elderly woman's death, in an attempt to assess children's understanding of 3 concepts: irrevocability, cessation of bodily processes, and universality. 2 story versions were used, 1 depicting the woman as a nice person, the other as an unkind person. In the major finding, understanding of universality, but not understanding of the irrevocability of death and cessation of bodily processes, was significantly related to the child's level of cognitive development. The variable relating to the attractiveness of the story character significantly affected children's responses regarding cause of death.