Explaining the concept of death from the perspective of children aged 4 to 8: A descriptive phenomenological study

Mahmood Ashiri, Rezvan; Khodabakhshi-koolaee, Anahita

doi:10.22062/jqr.2020.90998

Explaining the concept of death from the perspective of children aged 4 to 8: A descriptive phenomenological study

Authors

Rezvan Mahmood Ashiri ¹

anahita khodabakhshi-koolaee ²

¹ MA in counseling, Department of Counseling and Psychology, School of Humanities, Tehran North Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

² Assistant professor, Department of Psychology and Education, School of Humanities, Khatam University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22062/jqr.2020.90998

Abstract

Introduction: Background: A significant portion of children's imaginative thoughts is focused on the death of their parents and the fear of losing their loved ones. The fact is that an answer must be provided according to the child's perceptual complexities to prevent any harm in the process of their psychological development. Therefore, this descriptive phenomenological study aimed to investigate the concept of death in the perceptions of children aged 4 to 8 years.
Methods: This study employed a qualitative descriptive phenomenology. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The research population included all children aged 4 to 8 years in Tehran in 2018 who somehow experienced the concept of death including the death of animals, a loved one, and participation in funerals or mourning ceremonies. The research sample consisted of 20 children who were selected via purposive sampling for the interviews. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step method.
Results: The results of the study showed that the children’s attitudes towards the concept of death could be classified into three main contents including “irreversibility”, “universality”, and “loss of vital functions”.
Conclusion: Given the population of children participating in this study and the correspondence of their responses to existing theories including Piaget's theory of cognitive development, it seems that the phenomenon of death was conceptualized and perceived by Iranian children in three components including “irreversibility”, “universality”, and “loss of vital functions”, and children at a younger age have access to concepts related to the three components.

Keywords

Phenomenology

Child

Death

1. Gaab EM, Owens GR, MacLeod RD. Caregivers’ estimations of their children's perceptions of death as a biological concept. Death Studies 2013; 37(8): 693-703. doi: 10.1080/07481187.2012.692454. 2. Kazemi H, khodabakhshi-koolaee A. Comparative study of the concept of death in children based on the nagy and piaget cognitive pattern: Directed content analysis. Journal of Pediatric Nursing 2019; 6(1): 71-8. doi: 10.21859/jpen-06110. [In Persian]. 3. Longbottom S, Slaughter V. Sources of children's knowledge about death and dying. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2018; 373(1754): 20170267. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0267. 4. Nielson D. Discussing death with pediatric patients: Implications for nurses. J Pediatr Nurs 2012; 27(5): e59-64. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2011.11.006. 5. Gutiérrez IT, Menendez D, Jiang MJ, Hernandez IG, Miller P, Rosengren KS. Embracing death: Mexican parent and child perspectives on death. Child Development 2020; 91(2): e491-511. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13263. 6. Menendez D, Hernandez IG, Rosengren KS. Children’s emerging understanding of death. Child Development Perspectives 2020; 14(1): 55-60. doi: 10.1111/cdep.12357. 7. Agrawal J. What do preschool children in india understand about death?: An exploratory study. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying 2019; 0030222819852834. doi: 10.1177/0030222819852834. 8. Wong M. Chinese preschool children’s understanding of death. Early Years 2019; 1-6. doi: 10.1080/09575146.2019.1686466. 9. Satvat A, Khodabakhshi-Koolaee A, Falsafinejad M, Sanagoo A. identifying the challenges marriage of person with physical-motor disabilities in Tehran: A phenomenological study. Iranian Journal of Rehabilitation Research in Nursing 2018; 5(2): 55-62. doi: 10.21859/ijrn-05028. [In Persian]. 10. Shosha GA. Employment of Colaizzi's strategy in descriptive phenomenology: A reflection of a researcher. European Scientific Journal 2012; 8(27): 31-43. doi:10.19044/esj.2012.v8n27p%p. 11. Yan J, Yanhua C, Min H. An Investigation on 3-6-year-old Chinese Children's Perception of "Death". Universal Journal of Educational Research 2017; 5(2): 203-8. 12. Panagiotakia G, Hopkins M, Nobesc G, Wardd E, Griffithsc D. Children’s and adults’ understanding of death: Cognitive, parental, and experiential influences. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 166: 96-115. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.07.014. 13. Bonoti F, Leondari A, Mastora A. Exploring children's understanding of death: through drawings and the death concept questionnaire. Death Studies 2013; 37(1): 47-60. doi: 10.1080/07481187.2011.623216. 14. Slaughter V, Griffiths M. Death understanding and fear of death in young children. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2007; 12(4): 525-35. doi: 10.1177/1359104507080980. 15. Florian V, Kravetz S. Children's concepts of death: A cross-cultural comparison among Muslims, Druze, Christians, and Jews in Israel. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 1985; 16(2): 174-89. doi: 10.1177/0022002185016002003. 16. Slaughter V. Young children's understanding of death. Australian psychologist 2005; 40(3):179-86. doi: 10.1080/00050060500243426.