Children's Conceptions of Death and Personal Mortality

Children's conceptions of death and personal mortality were studied in relation to age, cognitive developmental factors, and life experiences with death or separation/divorce. Sixty children, ranging in age from 5 to 10 years, participated in the study. Children who had experienced the death of a significant other (parent, sibling, close relation, or peer) were compared on a variety of measures to children who had experienced parental separation or divorce, and to children from intact two-parent families with no experience of death or separation/divorce. The results indicated that most children who were 6 years of age or older possessed some belief in the universality of death. A child's understanding of personal mortality was related both to the level of cognitive development and to death-related experience. Children did not differ systematically on measures of personality or adjustment. The theoretical and applied significance of the results is discussed.