Concept of Death in Children (Essay Sample)

CONCEPT OF DEATH IN CHILDREN
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Table of Contents
 TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486666" 1. Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc405486666 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486668" 1.1. Aims and objectives  PAGEREF _Toc405486668 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486669" 1.2. Research questions  PAGEREF _Toc405486669 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486670" 2. Literature Review  PAGEREF _Toc405486670 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486671" 2.1. Perceptions of children about death at various stages of life  PAGEREF _Toc405486671 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486672" I. Infancy to 2 years old  PAGEREF _Toc405486672 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486673" II. Preschool age (2-4 years old)  PAGEREF _Toc405486673 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486674" III. Early Childhood age (4-7 years)  PAGEREF _Toc405486674 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486675" IV. Middle years of growth (7-10 years)  PAGEREF _Toc405486675 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486676" V. Before adolescence (10-12 years)  PAGEREF _Toc405486676 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486677" 2.2. Children’s reactions to death  PAGEREF _Toc405486677 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486678" 3. Research methods  PAGEREF _Toc405486678 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486679" 3.1. Reliability and validity analysis  PAGEREF _Toc405486679 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486680" 3.1. Methods of analysis to be used  PAGEREF _Toc405486680 \h
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 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc405486681" References  PAGEREF _Toc405486681 \h
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Abstract
The concept of death among children has been of great interest in child psychology. This is because observations show that most children have a different understanding of the concept of death compared to adults. This paper provides a focus on the manner in which children perceive a person that has died. It also investigates the impacts that the upbringing process contribute to their understanding of the concept of death. It is expected that the main contributing factors to their understanding of the concept of death is affected by their cultural background, initial experiences and the social environment such as the kinds of people they associate with during their childhood periods. This paper also investigates how children understand the impact of death on the deceased person and what happens to a person when the person is dead. It also provides a research strategy that will be used to understand children’s perception of death and the data collection methods that will be used.
Introduction
The perception of death among children has been of great interest to psychologists. When their conception of death is understood, it is possible to identify the areas where they have misconceptions about death. Consequently, a corrective education can be provided to them so that they understand what happens to a dead person (Amery 2009). This is based on the fact that children get exposed to death during their life stages such as either seeing dead animals or dead insects, or observing them lying still. In addition, they are exposed to fairy tales and television programs that involve cases of death. Another factor that may affect children’s understanding of the concept is their parents’ idea of death.
There are a number of advantages that can result from ensuring children understand the concept of death. For instance, they will be able to cope with the challenges of a loss of a loved one when they know the reality about the deceased. It will also ensure that cultural beliefs affecting the understanding of death are corrected, and a better understanding is acquired (Bedard-Bidwell 2001). All these conditions result in a number of interpretations of death. Moreover, children may be involved in a situation when a family member dies and thus be unable to understand the implications of the death of the relative. Having understood how they perceive death, it is possible to provide a method of assisting them in overcoming the grief related to the death of a loved one or living with the fact that a loved one has died and be ready for the impacts of the loss.
Studies show that children below 10 years are most likely to have a misconception of the concept of death (Brestan & Lee 2009). This topic was chosen because at the age of 7 when my grandmother passed on, developed anxiety and fear until the concept of death was elaborated to me so that I understood the facts about death. It is followed by research design that will be used to establish the concept of death among children of various age groups. The aim is to evaluate if there is a misconception about death among children in order to devise recommendations on how these misconceptions can be corrected so that children have a better understanding of the concept of death.
Aims and Objectives
The main aims and objectives of this paper include:
To understand children’s definition of death
To discover children’s perspective on death
To establish children’s perception of impacts of death
Research Questions
The research questions that will be used to understand the research topic include the following:
What is children’s definition of death?
What are the perspectives of children on death?
What are the impacts of death on children?
What are children’s reactions to death?
Keywords: Death, Perceptions, Impacts
2. Literature Review
2.1. Perceptions of Children about Death at Various Stages of Life
Infancy to 2 Years Old
This stage is characterized by lack of cognitive abilities and inability to understand concepts such as death (Carey 2005). They are more concerned with those who are closer to them and those who treat them in a friendly manner rather than those who are not in their vicinity. Their functions are based on the present and when someone dies, they only lose contact with the person and are likely to react to adults in their environment. The main concern for babies is their focus on the bereaved and they only show anxiety when the person is not in their surrounding (Christ 2000). They may become irritable and also cry constantly, change their sleeping and eating patterns, and show decreased activity levels.
Preschool Age (2-4 years old)
Observations how that children in this age group have conversations such as “When will my mummy be back home?” This is because they do not have the ability to comprehend the situation forever and they consider death as something that can be reversed. Even when the child is informed that mother is not coming back, the child may continue to ask the same question after certain time, for example, an hour (Corr & Corr 1996). They do not have the concept that death is different from life, nor do they consider it as something that can happen to them. They play ‘peek-a-boo’ games where they believe that adults disappear but reappear after certain time. However, through these games, they begin to develop the understanding of the difference between death and life.
While grieving, they are present oriented, and they show brief grief reactions. However, there are cases when the grief can be highly intense. At this stage, children are involved in constant learning; they develop the distinction between different phenomena, and when adults die minors start understanding the impacts of separation from them (Cotton & Range 1990). In reaction to this, they may develop tantrums due to their concerns or to ensure their parents are distracted from emotions (Webb, 2010). They may show grief by being confused, experiencing frightening dreams, showing aggressive characteristics such as clinging, wetting bed, crying inconsolably, and even withdrawing from others. They may be involved in a continuous search for the bereaved despite being sure that the person may not return. They may also be anxious when they are in the vicinity of strangers.
Early Childhood Age (4-7 years)
Children develop the concept of their contribution to the death of the deceased. For instance, they may blame themselves for the deaths due to their belief that having negative thoughts about the dead person might have resulted in their deaths (Cox 2005). This is based on the magical belief that everything around them is based on how they understand the happenings in their environment. Even during their exposure to death through school and media, they develop the idea that if one is careful, it is possible to avoid death. They may also develop connections of the events that are not related to one another. For instance, if a girl buys a toy and her sister passes away the following week, she may attribute the death of her sister to have been caused by the toy if the incident is not fully elaborated to her.
In grief response, the child may try to find where the bereaved is. The child may also be involved in repetitive inquiry about the whereabouts of the deceased (Davies & Janosik 2001). In some cases, the child may ask what happens when a person dies and may also want to know whether dead people are able to eat. However, these feelings may be expressed during play rather than verbally (Dulcan & Lake 2012). Ideas of family loss may be concluded when the child is playing with dolls where the child may play act of death or funeral process for the dead.
There is a general indifference to the death of their loved ones; however, this does not imply that they are happy about the death of the person (Grollman & Avishai 2011). It is an indication that they are unable to acknowledge the pain they are experiencing at the moment. Their reaction may be based on the reactions of adults around them who show uncertainty about the grief feelings...