Verified Document

Children Do Not Understand Death In The Essay

¶ … Children do not understand death in the same manner as adults. Adults understand death as a natural part of the cyclical nature of life, but children cannot grasp this. There are four subconcepts which create this difference between adult and child: irreversibility, finality or non-functionality, causality, and inevitability (Bonoto 2013,-page 48). Death is an abstract concept meaning that it is not something which can be explained through objectivity. Things which are not concrete are not understood until a level of mental maturity has been reached, no sooner than age seven (Bonoto 2013,-page 48). Abstract concepts such as life, love, and death require a level of cognitive development that most young children simply do not yet possess.

Children who have had a close association with death, such as a personal experience or a prolonged illness are potentially more likely to understand death at a younger age (Bonoto 2013,-page 49). This has not been universally acknowledged or verified according to research because some children with personal experience with death do not have a better understanding than the general population.

Parts of this document are hidden

View Full Document
svg-one

Drawings have proven to be an ideal way for psychologists and researchers to understand and analyze the emotions of children and their perceptions of death and the grief process (Bonoto 2013,-page 50). The research discussed in this article verifies that this is especially good as a psychological tool because it allows children to express emotion when they do not yet have the language skills necessary to convey those feelings.
2. Discuss the generalizability and validity of the study.

More than 100 research studies have been conducted on the subject of children's psychological perspective of death. The article tries to analyze these in a general manner, applying the findings of the ones these researchers found to be most valid. Thus they have been peer-reviewed multiple times and their generalization applied over nearly a century. In addition to this evaluation, the researchers performed their own investigation into children and their comprehension of death. This test was conducted using a questionnaire which did not vary from child to child, but rather the same questions were given to all children. In addition to this, the…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now