CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
THE CHILD'S CONCEPT OF DEATH
A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in
Home Economics
by
Sara Laudin
January, 1981
The Thesis of Sara Laudin is approved:
Molty c.tJGorelick, Ed.D.
AlycE(/Blackmon, M.A.
.
Commkttee Chairperson
California State University, Northridge
ii
PREFACE
This research was a comparative study between
children who lost their fathers in the Yom Kippur War,
and Israeli children whose fathers are still living.
The purpose of the study was to examine the
development of the concept of death in children aged
four through nine.
The researcher believed that such a study would
be useful to parents, teachers, social workers and others
in understanding the child's grasp of the concept of
death, and thus in helping the child.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude to my
committee - Dr. Marjory L. Joseph, Dr. Molly C. Gorelick
and especially Ms. Alyce Blackmon, who made this work
possible, in spite of all the difficulties and the great
geographical distance between us.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE . . . . . .
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
iv
LIST OF TABLES
vi
vii
ABSTRACT
Chapter
INTRODUCTION
1
:::-
Null HYpotheses .
2
Limitations ""'
2
De:fini tions . .
3
2.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
3·
PROCEDURE
4
13
Data Collection . .
14
Analysis o:f Data
15
4.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
17
5·
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
26
Conclusions . . .
26
Play Situation
32
Recommendations .
32
BIBLIOGRAPHY
34
APPENDICES
A.
SAMPLE INTERVIEW EVALUATION FORM
36
B.
SAMPLE PLAY SITUATION EVALUATION FORM . .
37
v
TABLES
Table
1.
Page
Cognitive Awareness of Death in Children of
Different Age Groups According to Chi Square
Test . . . . . . . .
2.
Cognitive Awareness of Death in Children of
Different Age Groups - Number of Children
. . 21
. . 22
J.
Understanding of Death in Children Ages 4-5,
Comparison Between Children of Living and
of Deceased Fathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.
Understanding of Death in Children Ages 6-7,
Comparison Between Children of Living and
of Deceased Fathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.
Understanding of Death in Children Ages 8-9,
Comparison Between Children of Living and
of Deceased Fathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
vi
ABSTRACT
THE CHILD'S CONCEPT OF DEATH
by
Sara Laudin
Master of Science in Home Economics
This study examined the development of the concept
of death in children aged four through nine.
It ascer-
tained the relation of age and actual experience of
losing a father upon the child's comprehension of the
concept of death.
Forty-nine children who had lost their fathers
in the Yom Kippur War, and thirty-six children who had not,
were each personally interviewed.
Each child was asked
a list of questions, .aimed to test their understanding
of the concept of death.
In addition, the youngest
children were presented with a play situation, in which
questions were put to them, using dolls as visual subjects.
Statistical analysis showed a difference in the
cognitive awareness of death in children of different
age groups.
It was further indicated that there was no
significant difference in the understanding of death between children who had lost their fathers and those who
had not.
The Chi Square Test, at the .05 level, was used
to determine if the results were significant.
vii
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Death, .a final and irrevocable concept, is something which young children cannot comprehend. Plank (13:332)
states that "young children do not understand death as
a permanent and inevitable biological reality."
Is the understanding of children who have actually
suffered the loss of a dear one, a parent or a beloved
pet, different from that of children of the same ages
who have had no actual personal experience?
The researcher
hoped through this study to make a comparison of the
understanding of the concept of death possessed by children
from the ages of four through nine years, with and without
the exper:j,ence of loss.
The review of the literature did not reveal any
studies which included or were specifically concerned
with children of these ages who suffered such a loss.
None of the studies reviewed stated whether or not the
children had experienced any loss through death.
The subject matter was of particular concern
to the researcher who, as an Israeli, has lived through
three wars, and is aware of and sensitive to the problems
of young children left fatherless as a result of war.
1
2
The purpose o£ this study was to learn how the
concept o£ death develops in children aged £our through
nine who have su££ered the loss o£ a £ather in war.
It was the belie£ of the researcher that such
a study would prove valuable to parents, teachers, social
workers, and others in understanding a child's grasp of
the concept of death, and consequently enable them to
better understand how to help the child.
Null Hypotheses
1.
There is no significant difference in the
cognitive awareness of death in children of different ages.
2.
There is no significant difference in the
understanding of death between children who have suffered
the loss of a father in the Yom Kippur War, and those
who have not.
Limitations
1.
As this study took place in Israel, it was
conducted in Hebrew and then translated into English.
Some of the fine points may have been lost in the translation.
2.
It was not possible to establish through the
study the m1iversality of the conclusions since it dealt
with children whose experience with or lack of said
experience was during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and not,
for example, the long or short term illness of the
deceased parent.
J.
The sample of approximately forty-nine children
may not be large enough to provide an adequate basis for
generalization.
Definitions
1.
Death:
The act or fact of dying; permanent
ending of all life in a person, plant, or animal.
2.
Concept of Death:
A generalized idea of
the extinction of life, mental posture, e.g. acceptance
or rejection toward death in children involved in this
study.
J.
Cognitive Awareness:
Refers to having power
of mental comprehension - the degree of cognitive awareness in children of this study; their ability to actually
comprehend the meaning of death.
4
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Teach me to die
Hold onto my hand
I have so many questions
Things I don't understand
Teach me to die
Give all you can give
If you'll teach me of dying
I will teach you to live
(Ross, 10:19)
Plank has written that death as a permanent an-d
irrevocable biological reality is not understood by young
children (13:332).
Dr. Ginott stated that:
... to children it [death] is an enigma veiled
in mystery. The young child cannot comprehend
that death is permanent; that neither his parents
or his prayers can bring back the departed. His
fear is reflected in the question he asks "After
you die,will you still love me?" (6:144).
As reported by Formanek (4:94), words are frequently
given different meaning by adults and young children.
Adults have used words for a longer time than have children
and so understand one another, but when a child learns
a new word he often misuses it.
An adult's assumption
that meaning of words are similar to all can mislead a
child.
adult.
Death does not mean the same to a child as to an
5
Hendin (8:144) pointed out that the loss of a pet
is an excellent opportunity for direct and open discussion
of the subject of death.
The child may be encouraged
to talk about his personal thoughts and feelings and to
ask questions.
Formanek (4:93) suggested that questions include
"What is the meaning of the death of a pet to a child?
Does the pet occupy a place similar to that of an important person or is it similar to the place of an inanimate
toy?"
Children identify with their pets and do not
treat them like toys.
Feelings are transferred to pets as
if the animals were human.
The death of a pet that chil-
dren have loved causes shock; the experience is profound
and frequently their first experience with death.
A quick
replacement of a dead pet by a new live one teaches the
child that everyone can be replaced.
People, like pets,
could also be replaced.
Hendin (8:142) suggested that, generally, developmental psychologists agree that the child from birth
to approximately two years of age has no comprehension
of the concept of death.
This is consistent with the
argument that children in this age bracket are not capable
of grasping any abstract concepts.
Research has shown
6.
that separation is the child's first concept of death
and that this prevails until about age three.
Papalia (12:367) pointed out that children two
to three years of age rarely are upset by the sight of a
dead animal or news about the death of a person since
children of this age have no idea what death is.
In their
minds they generally confuse it with sleep or they ask
in puzzlement, "Why doesn't it move?"
Hendin (8:143) reported that between the ages of
three and five children view death as a temporary situation
like someone resting or taking a trip.
"I know Daddy
is dead, " said a five-year old, "but why doesn't he come
home for dinner?"
Death seems to be very clear to the
children of this age, but it simply is not perceived as
a permanent happening.
Zeligs (18:394) also noted that three to five
year old children have no concept of the finality of death.
They freely talk of death in their play with their guns.
as they pretend to shoot each other, but they conceive
of death as a non-permanent separation, exemplified by
their game of dying and getting up.
Also dealing with this age group, Plank (13:331)
stated that children have many thoughts and fantasies
7
about death.
They still have difficulty distinguishing
between animate and inanimate objects and they hardly
conceive of permanent lifelessness, and therefore death is
not necessarily final, but reversible.
This misconception
is illustrated as well by Nagy's (11:5) report of a five
year old who, when asked what his father did down under
the earth, answered, "he lies there, scratches the earth
to come up to get a little air."
Grollman (7:5) reported that youngsters from the
ages of three to five may deny the finality of death and
cannot think of it as a regular process.
Death to these
children is like sleep, "You are dead, then you are alive
again. "
Or it is like taking a journey; "You are gone,
then you come back again."
Grollman (7:6) continued:
"Between five and nine,
children appear to accept the idea that a person has
died ... " but he does not fully u...11derstand it as something
that will happen to everyone and particularly to himself.
According to Papalia (12:368) children between
the ages of seven, eight and nine are consumed with
questions about death, often asking their parents when
they will die.
At about the age of nine, Grollman (7:6) said,
8
the child understands death as an inevitable experience
which will occur to him.
Nagy's (11:6) investigation of children aged 3
to 10 also demonstrated three main questions in the child's
mind:
"What is death?"; "What makes people die?"; "What
happens to people when they die, where do they go?"
Clark (3:705-6) stated that, like the adult, the
child, when faced with separation of the loved object,
goes through a mourning process characterized by shock
or fright, protest, despair and detachment.
When a child experiences the loss of a loved
one, he may fear that he or his parents will die. Children sometimes are afraid to fall asleep since death and
sleep are synonymous to the child and he is afraid he will
not awaken.
The child may also fear he may have caused
the death because of hostile feelings and death wishes at
times of frustration or jealousy of siblings, according
to Zeligs (18:394).
According to
Srr~rt
(15:15) children usually take
longer than adults to pass through the phases of grief
and mourning.
Children under six years cannot conceive
of the finality-of death.
return.
They expect the loved one to
Every separation, even though temporary, is
9.
disturbing.
Children often express their feelings about
a death in indirect, delayed and disguised ways.
Often
·a bereaved young child seems neither to know or care
about his loss, but such appearances are deceiving.
In
many cases, children cannot move out of the first phase
of reactions to death, continuing the protest and anger
at separation and refusal to face the finality of the
loss.
The phase of despair and disorganization may come
only after several years, hope and reorganization coming
even later.
Maria Nagy (11:26-27), in a study on the child's
theories concerning death, investigated how children from
three to ten years think of death.
She employed written
compositions, drawings and discussion alike in collecting
the data from 378 children.
of development.
She found three stages
The first is characteristic of children
between three and five years.
They deny death as are-
gular and final process and see death as a departure,
a further existence in changed circumstances.
There
were some children who thought of death as temporary.
In the second stage, generally between the ages of five
and nine, death is personified and considered a person.
The children still try to keep it distant from themselves
10
though they recognize that it exists.
the death-man carries off die.
Only those whom
Death is eventuality.
In the third stage, generally about nine years of age,
it is recognized that death is a process which takes place
in each one of us.
They know that death is inevitable.
In 1971, Perry Childers and Mary Wimmer (2:1J01)
made a study of children's awareness of the universality
and irrevocability of death.
The sample consisted of 75
children from the ages of four to ten years.
The material
included individual discussions and the children were
asked to draw or write what death meant to them.
The
results showed that generally children understand the
universality of death, and their understanding seemed.to
be a function of age level since there seemed to be a
sporadic progression as the age level increased.
Tallmer, Formanek, and Tallmer (16:18) conducted
a study to compare the concept of death of children in
different socio-economic levels.
Their hypothesis was
that lower socio-economic status children would have a
more adequate concept of death at each age level than
middle socio-economic status children and that parental
orientation and actual experiences with death would effect
the acquisition of the concept in all classes.
The sample
11
consisted of 199 children ranging from three to nine years
of age.
The children were administered a questionnaire
dealing with animate and inanimate concept acquisition.
They questioned the parents of each child concerning
their orientation towards death and their explanations
to their children.
The results showed that older children's concept
of death and of animate versus inanimate were more adequate than those of younger children.
The concept of
death developed more slowly than the differentiation
between animate and inanimate.
Neither parental explanation
nor the child's experiences with death as reported by the
parents showed a significant relationship with the
adequacy of the concept of death.
The difference between
lower and middle class children was significant.
Lower
class children were more aware of the concept of death
than middle class children.
From Formanek (4:15) it can be learned that:
The responses from children between the ages of
three through nine years to our question about
the meaning of the word "dead" were classified
on the basis of the maturity of the explanation.
For example at the most immature level, children
did not understand our question or thought that
"dead" means "You can't hear" - confusing the
word with "deaf."
12
At the next stage, children gave partial explanations based on information they had gathered here
and there, somehow associated with the word "dead."
They would say, for example, that "dead" meant
that "you either go to the hospital or to the
funeral," or "you go to the angel," or "you
can't walk or play the piano anymore."
At the most mature stage of' understanding of the
concept, children indicate that death implied
both universality and finality. Only twenty
per cent of the seven to nine year olds in our
sample had reached this stage.
In summary, all the studies concluded that children up to age five did not comprehend the concept of
death, even though it may seem from their games that
they do understand.
It was also indicated by the studies
that children nine years and older do understand the
concept of death.
The experience of loss of' a loved pet may be for
the child an experience with the concept of death.
However, the parents often replace the dead pet with a
new one, thereby showing the child that for every dead
thing an immediate substitute is available.
Chapter 3
PROCEDURE
The researcher individually·interviewed children
in the age groups 4-5, 6-7, and 8-9.
The sample included some forty-nine Israeli
children who lost their father in the 1973 Yom Kippur War,
ages four years through nine years.
There were sixteen
children in two of the age groups, and seventeen in the
third.
The control group was comprised of thirty-six
Israeli children whose fathers were living, two age
groups of sixteen, and one of seventeen children.
All the children were from middle-class families;
all were Jewish.
They were of various ethnic backgrounds,
that is, both of European and of Oriental origins.
The variables studied included:
1) experiencing
the death of the father, 2) experiencing the death of
the father during combat, rather than death by illness
or other cause, and 3) the selected age groups of the
children.
An open-ended questionnaire adapted by the investigator from the work of Childers and Wimmer (2:1300) was
implemented.
The children were visited by the researcher
in their homes, and an individual discussion was conducted
14
with each subject, in which they were asked the questions
listed in the questionnaire.
A play situation was implemented for the youngest
children (ages 4-5), using dolls to represent a family.
It was explained that the father had died, and the child
was asked questions concerning the family and the possibility of each member's participation in a
futt~e
event.
Data Collection
A schedule for individual interviews with the
children was organized.
These interviews each followed
a designated sequence of questions: i.e.
1.
Give a list of things which are alive.
2.
Is a ball, moon, watch alive?
J.
Is a flower, dog, bird alive?
4.
Have you seen anything or anyone dead?
Tell me about it.
5.
What happens when you or someone dies?
6.
What are some things living people can do?
7.
Which of these things can dead people do?
8.
Does this mean they can come back to life?
9.
Under what conditions does one die?
10.
Can children die?
15
Those aged 4-5 years also were presented with a
play situation.
After the interview, the four dolls,
representing a family, were placed upright on a table.
The researcher told each child that this was a family - a
father, mother, sister, brother.
father was killed in a war.
She explained that the
Then the doll representing
the father was laid down, without removing it from the
table.
She then told the child that the family was
planning to take a trip after the war, and asked the child
to point out which members of the family would go on the
trip.
If the child indicated that the father would be
included in the event, it was demonstrated that the child
did not understand the permanence of death.
Analysis of Data
Initially, each interview was taped.
The material
thus collected was then recorded on a schedule form which
included the child's name, age, age at the time of father's
death, space for ans"tvers to the questions, and space for
the researcher's evaluation of the child's understanding
of death.
In the evaluation of the child's comprehension of
death, the researcher determined that two wrong ansers
showed a lack of understanding of death.
(See Appendix A.)
16
In the process of the interviews, the responses
to questions concerning what dead people can do, if they
can return to life, under what conditions does one die,
and can children die, were the most significant in
evaluating the child's understanding of the concept.
The play situation was recorded on a separate
form for each child.
The form included the child's name,
age, age at the time of father's death, the way the child
responded when asked:
go on this trip?".
"Which members of the family will
The evaluation by the researcher as
to the child's understanding of death also was recorded
on this form. (See Appendix B.)
The Chi Square Test, at the 0.05 level, was used
to determine if the results were significant.
17
Chapter 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Null hypothesis I proposed that there would be
no difference in the cognitive awareness of death in
children of different ages.
The Chi Square Test was employed to determine
if there was a significant difference in awareness and
understanding of death of children in age groups 4-5,
6-7, and 8-9 years.
The computed chi square was 14.6404, the criterion
value was 5.991 with 2 degrees of freedom, significance
level 0.05.
The data were significant. (See Table 1.)
The data provide for the rejection of null hypothesis I -(see Table 1).
Thus, the finding that there
is a difference in the cognitive awareness of death in
children of different ages in this study confirms the
earlier studies of Childers and Wimmer (2).
The Chi Square Test in both the fatherless group
and the control group was applied to data from the interview alone, without regard to the play situation, as
the play situation was applied only to one age group.
The test has shown that in age group 4-5 years none
of the children (neither of living nor of deceased
18
fathers) understood the meaning of death when using the
qeustionnaire; in age group 6-7 approximately half of
the children did comprehend the finality of death; and in
age group 8-9 the proportion rose to approximately 2:J.
Null hypothesis II proposed that there would be
no difference in the understanding of death between
children who had suffered the loss of a father in the
Yom Kippur War, and those who had not.
A total of 85 children were tested - 49 in the
fatherless group and 36 in the control group.
Of these
85, JJ understood the meaning of death and 52 did not.
The distribution is shown in Table 2.
Age group 4-5 years contained 16 children who were
fatherless.
Their responses to the questionnaire indicated
that none of them understood the meaning of death.
There
were 10 in the control group, nine of whom did not understand the meaning of death and one who did. (See Table 2.)
The computed chi square was not significant at
the 0.05 level.
(See Table
J.)
In age group 4-5 there
was no cognitive awareness of death in any of the children
in the fatherless or control groups.
Age group 6-7 consisted of 17 children who were
fatherless, eight of whom understood the meaning of
19
death and nine who did not; there were 13 children in the
control group, eight .of whom understood and five who did
not. (See Table 4.)
The computed chi square was not significant.
(See Table 4.)
In age group 6-7 there was no difference
in the cognitive awareness of death between children
in families with living or with deceased fathers.
Age group 8-9 consisted of 16 children in the
fatherless group of whom 10 understood the meaning of
death and 6 did not; there were 13 children in the control
group, of whom 9 understood the concept of death and 4
did not. (See Table 5.)
The computed chi square was not.significant.
In age group 8-9 there was no difference in the cognitive
awareness of death between children of living and of
deceased fathers.
Null hypothesis II was accepted as there was
no significant difference in the understanding of death
between children in any given age group who suffered
the loss of a father in the Yom Kippur War, and those
who did not. (See Tables 3, 4, and
5·)
In the play situation, each child, ages 4 to 5,
without exception, gave the correct answer to the situation
20
and question presented.
Even those children who during
the interview showed no signs of comprehending the finality
of death did not include the father as part of the whole
post-war family, cognitively indicating comprehension
of the concept of death.
The data provided by the play situation conflicted
with the results of the interview.
Evidently, although
they could not yet grasp the abstract concept of death
as put to them in the verbal interview, even these young
children comprehended the concept of death as presented
to them visually.
TABLE 1
Cognitive Awareness of Death in Children of Different Age Groups
According to Chi Square Test
Fatherless Group
Comprehension Noncomprehenof Death
sion of Death
Age
Group
II
II
...
Total
II
II
II
II
4-5
years
-
16
16
II
II
II
II
II
6-7
years
8
9
17
II
II
II
II
8-9
years
10
Control GrouE
Comprehension Noncomprehenof Death
sion of Death
Total
1
9
10
5
8
13
9
4
13
II
6
16
II
II
IJ
II
II
18
31
49
:I
II
II
15
-
21
--- - -
Computed Chi Square - Fatherless group:
Control group:
14.6404
8.2443
36
-
The data are significant.
There is a difference in the
df = (2-1) (3-1) = 2
cognitive a\-Jareness of death
Criterior Value (0.05) = 5.991
in children of different ages
ages.
N
1-'
TABLE 2
Cognitive Awareness of Death in Children of Different Age Groups
Number of Children
II
II
II
Fatherless Group
II
II
II
_Control Group
II
Age Group
4-5
6-7
8-9
Total
4-5
6-7
8-9
Total
II
II
I
II
II
"
Comprehension
of Death
Total of
Both Groups
I
-
8
10
18
1
5
9
15
I
Noncomprehension of Death
16
9
6
31
Total
16
17
16
49
I
9
8
4
21
10
13
13
36
33
II
II
I
52
85
II
N
N
23
TABLE J
Understanding of Death in Children Ages
4=2
Comparison of Children of Living and of Deceased Fathers
Group
Comprehension
of Death
Noncomprehension ' Total
of Death
Fatherless
Group
Control
Group
1
16
16
9
10
25
26
I
Total
1
Computed Chi Square
= 1.6641
df = ( 2-1 ) ( 2-1 ) = 1
Criterion Value (0.05)
= ).841
The data are not significant•
There is no difference in
the understanding of death between children ages 4-5 who
have suffered the loss of a father in the Yom Kippur War,
and those who have not.
24
TABLE
4
Understanding of Death in Childrep._~~..§~_6-.z
Comparison of Children o:t: Living and qf Deceased_Ya!g.§r§_
Group
Comprehension
of Death
Noncomprehension
of Death
!
Total
---t-----t--------~-·cFatherless
Group
8
9
.
1
17
l
8
5
Control
I
13
_G_r_o_u_p-----+----------1-------------t----Total
13
17
I
30 ·
------------~--------------~-----------------L______
Computed Chi Square = 0.2216
df
=
(2-1) (2-1)
=
1
Criterion Value (0.05)
= 3.841
The data are not significant.
There is no difference in the understanding of death
between children ages
6-7 who have suffered the loss of a
father in the Yom Kippur War, and those who have not.
25.
TABLE 5
Understanding of Death in
Childre~~e~-§~2
Comparison of Children of Living and Qf Deseased_Fathers
Group
Comprehension
of Death
Fatherless
Group
10
Noncomprehension
of Death
Total
6
16
--, - - - - Control
Group·
4
9
--
----1-Total
19
13
10
29
-
I
Computed Chi Square = 0.1438
df
= (2 -1 )
( 2-1 )
=
1
Criterion Value (0.05) - 3.841
The data are not significant.
There is no difference in the understanding of death
between children ages 8-9 who have suffered the loss of
a father in the Yom Kippur War, -.and those who ha7e not.
26
Chapter 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The purpose of this study was to investigate and
determine the association between age and the understanding
of death in two groups of children - those who had lost
a father in the Yom Kippur War, and those who had not.
The investigation compared 85 Israeli children,
aged 4-9.
The instrument used for evaluation of the
child's understanding of death was an individual interview
with each child, using a designated schedule of questions.
For the youngest (4-5 year old) age group, a play situation
was also used.
Conclusions
Null hypothesis I proposed that there would be
no difference in the cognitive awareness in children of
different ages.
Null hypothesis I was rejected.
The
results indicate that the cognitive awareness of death
differs in children of different ages.
In age group 4-5 it is clearly evident that none
of the children understood the meaning of death as tested
with the interview, not even those who had experienced
the loss of their father.
Nearly all of the children
27
in the fatherless group and 90% of the children in the
control group appeared not to have understood the concept
of death as indicated by responses to the verbal questions.
However, all the children in this group understood the
concept of death when represented visually as indicated
by their responses in the play situation.
In age group 6-7, the results indicate that of
the fatherless group, 47.05% understood the meaning of
death and 52.94% did not; while in the control group
38.46% understood and 61.5% did not.
The children of
this age group began to understand the meaning of death,
perhaps as a result of feelings at home, discussions in
school, on the street and between parents.
However, it
seems that there was no real complete cognitive awareness
of death in this age group, as many of the children answered "I do not know" to the questions posed to them.
Thus definite comprehension or noncomprehension was
difficult to determine.
In age group 8-9, the percentage of children who
understood the meaning of death was 62.5% in the fatherless
group and 69.23% in the control group, as opposed to the
37.5% in the fatherless group and 30.77% in the control
group who did not understand.
In summary, it can be stated that from a.ge group
28
4-5 to age group 6-7 and from age group 6-7 to age group
8-9 there is a considerable increase in the understanding
of death.
However, as mentioned previously, it is diffi-
cult to determine whether the understanding of death even
of the children in age group 8-9 is a definite cognitive
awareness.
It seems that the mode of presentation of
the questions may also significantly effect the responses,
as demonstrated by the play situation in this study.
Null hypothesis II proposed that there would be ·
no difference in the cognitive awareness of death between
children who suffered the loss of a father in the Yom
Kippur War and those who did not.
was accepted.
Null hypothesis II
Results indicate that children in the
control group responded similarly to those of the fatherless group. (See Table 2.)
This study was performed in Israel, a country
which has seen many wars, during a post-war period when
the awareness of death was at a peak.
Practically everyone,
every child, if he did not suffer an immediate loss,
knew of a neighbor, a teacher, a friend's father who had
been killed.
Thus, death may be just as much a reality
to the children whose fathers survived the war as it
was to those who lost their father in the war.
Therefore,
29-
the results from the fatherless group were almost identical
to those from the control group.
A similar comparison, if performed in the United
States between children who lost a parent as a result of
illness or accident and children who did not suffer such
a loss, might possibly show different results.
The following responses to questions posed to
the children involved in this study also might be particular to the Israeli child's awareness of death.
Question 5 asked "What happens when you or someone
dies?"
Responses from those in the age group 4-5 included
the following:
Approximately 20 percent indicated that
they did not know.
With the exception of one child, who
answered correctly, the rest gave var1ing answers such
as "He does not move," "He goes to God," "He does not
come home, " "He lies down and afterwards is buried, " "He
can't do anything- not even play," "He falls asleep and
never wakes up," "He bleeds a lot."
Those in age group 6-7 gave such responses as
"He does not live."
up to heaven."
Many said "He is buried and goes
Others who seemed to understand to a
greater extent said "He does not breathe," and gave
examples of a dead fish or dog.
A number of children said
that when someone dies he is seriously wounded and is
30-
taken to the hospital and afterwards is buried."
Those in age group 8-9 said:
"He stops breathing,
there is no spirit of life in him, he is buried, it is
like sleeping but he is unable to wake up."
Question 8 asked, "Does this mean they can come
back to life?"
Those in age group 4-5 gave such responses as:
"A dead person can come back in a dream."
they didn't know.
Many said
Some said "yes , " s orne answered "no. ''
Of the 6-7 age group, almost all said "no." A
few answered positively.
In the 8-9 age group almost all answered "no."
Question 9 asked, "Under what conditions does
one die?"
Those in the 4-5 age group gave answers that
might be typical of the children in a country at war:
"gun, rifle," was repeated many times, or "killed in a
war. "
Only a few said "He can be run over by a car. "
Some said "He can die in a war."
Those in age group 6-7 gave similar answers, in
addition to "a serious illness, or old age."
But most
mentioned death as a result of war.
Those in age group 8-9 also gave many answers
31
related to war, although a larger percent mentioned
accidents and illnesses as well.
Question 10 asked, "Can children die?''
Those in age group 4-5 had the following responses:
Some of the children answered that children
cannot die.
Some said that children can also die from
a gun or a rifle.
There were also answers like:
"Yes,
if they don't eat, if they play dangerous games, they can
get run over."
One said, "Children can almost never die.
They don't fight in wars because they are only children."
Those in age group 6-7, as well, said that children
cannot die, while others in the group said that children
can die just as adults die.
Accidents as a cause of
death appeared ,here in addition to answers like "war,"
and "terrorists."
In age group 8-9, the researcher was surprised
to see that many of the children said that children can
die in war.
Only a few mentioned illness or accidents.
There was no significant difference between the
answers of the children in the fatherless group and those
of the control group.
This once again supported the
hypothesis that there is no difference in the understanding
of death between children who lost their father in war
32
and those who did not; and this, perhaps is specific
to Israel at a post-war time.
Play Situation
In this study, the play situation was contradictory in its results to the questionnaire.
All of the
children, even in age group 4-5, knew that the father
was dead, that he was not present.
presented death visually to the
The play situation
child~
However, when
probing deeper, the child did not understand the conditions of death, the reason for the father's non-presence,
the finality of death.
One child said, "Of course, you
can not come back after you die, but when I die I will
come back so my,mother will not be sad."
Perhaps the representational level actually reflects the cognitive level more closely than the verbal
questions, but this researcher believes that the play
situation was not a useful instrument, and would not
recommend that it be used again.
Of course this reaction
is not conclusive; this issue should certainly be investigated further.
33
Recommendations
This study was performed immediately after the
Yom Kippur War of 1973 and, thus, perhaps, used a population that may have been more familiar and understanding
of death than usual.
Further studies are therefore recommended using
the same variables, but carried out during peace time.
It would be most interesting to compare the results of
such a study with the present one.
Additional studies of the same type might be
performed on children of other cultures.
This might aid
in determining the importance of the factor of war and
the familiarity of war on the child's comprehension of
death.
34
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.
Anthony, Sylvia.
and After.
2.
The Discovery_of Death in Childhood
New York:
Basic Books, 1972.
Childers , Perry and Wimmer, Mary.
Death in Early Childhood."
"The Concept of
Child Development,
42:4:1299-1301, 1971.
J.
Clark, Margie B.
"A Therapeutic Approach to Treating
a Grieving 2-1/2 Year Old."
Journal of the
American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 11:4:405-
711, 1972.
4.
Formanek, Ruth.
"When Children Ask About Death; "
Elementary School Journal, 75:2:92-97, 1974.
5.
Gibney, Harriet H.
"What Death Means to Children."
Parents Magazine, 65:136-141, 1965.
6.
Ginott, Haim.
Between Parent and Child.
New York;
Macmillan, 1965.
7.
Grollman, Earl.
Boston:
8.
Explaining Death to Children.
Beacon, 1967.
Hendin, David.
Death as a Fact of Life.
New York:
Norton, 197J.
9.
Kastenbaum, Robert.
New York:
The Psychology of Death.
Springer Pub. Co., 1972.
35
10.
Kubler-Ross, Elizabeth.
New York:
On
~eath
and pzing.
National Broadcasting Company, Inc.
U.S. Catholic Conference, 1974.
11.
Nagy, Maria.
Death."
"The Child's Theories Concerning
Journal of Genetics and Psychology,
73:3-27, 1948.
12.
Papalia, Daine E. and Oldo, Sally.
Infancy Through Adolescence.
A Child's World New York: McGraw-
Hill, 1975.
13.
Plank, Emma N.
"Young Children and Death."
Young
Children, 23:6:331-336, 1961.
14.
Schilder, P. and Wechsler, D.
Children Toward Death. "
"The Attitudes of
Journal of Genetic
Psychology, 45:406-451,.1934.
15.
Smart, Mollie.
Children."
16.
"Program on What Death Means to
Parents Magazine, March, 15-16, 1965.
Tallmer, Margot, Formanek, Ruth and Tallmer, Jill.
Factors Influencing Children's Concepts of Death."
Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 3:2:17-19,
1974.
17.
Von-Hug Hellmuth, Hermine.
Death."
18.
Zeligs, Rose.
"The Child's Concept of
Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 34:499-516,1965.
"Children's Attitudes Toward Death."
Mental Hygiene, 51:393-396, 1965.
36
APPENDIX A
Sample Interview Evaluation Form
(Translation)
Child's Name:(Yael)
Age:
(5)
Male/Female: (female)
Age at Time of Father's Death: (2)
Questions
1.
Give a list of things which are alive.(dog,cat,bird)
2.
Is a ball, moon, watch alive?
J.
Is a flower, dog, bird alive? (no,yes,yes)
4.
Have you ever seen anything or anyone dead?
(no,no~,~n=o~)______________
Tell
me about it. (No, I never saw.)
5.
What happens when you or someone dies? (He can't eat
anymore, and can't live. When our fish died, they
took him out of the aquarium.
6.
What are some things living people can do? (eat,talk)
7.
Which of these things can dead people do?(I don't know)
8.
Does this mean they can come back to life?(don't know)
9.
Under what conditions does one die?(From a bomb or
from a rifle.
10.
Can children die? (No, yes from a bomb.)
Evaluation
no
~~-----------------------------------------------
37
APPENDIX B
Sample Play Situation Evaluation Form
(Translation)
Child's Name:(Yael)
Male/Female: (female)
Age:
Age at Time of Father's Death: (2)
(5)
Play Situation
Pro~
The child pointed out:
(mother)
(son)
(daughter)
Evaluation
(yes)