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Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol. 12, No. 4,
525-535 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1359104507080980
Death Understanding and Fear of Death in Young Children
Virginia Slaughter
University of Queensland, Australia, vps{at}psy.uq.edu.au
Maya Griffiths
University of Queensland, Australia
The purpose of this study was to test whether the developmental acquisition of a mature concept of death, that is, understanding death as a biological event, affects young children's fear of death. Ninety children between the ages of 4 and 8 participated in an interview study in which their understanding of death and their fear of death were both assessed. Levels of general anxiety were also measured via parent report. A regression analysis indicated that more mature death understanding was associated with lower levels of death fear, when age and general anxiety were controlled. These data provide some empirical support for the widely held belief that discussing death and dying in biological terms is the best way to alleviate fear of death in young children.
Key Words: children • death anxiety • death concept • normal fear
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