Embracing Death: Mexican Parent and Child Perspectives on Death.
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Authors
- Gutiérrez, Isabel T.; Menendez, David, ; Jiang, Matthew J.; Hernandez, Iseli G.; Miller, Peggy; Rosengren, Karl S.
- Source
- Child Development; Mar/Apr2020, Vol. 91 Issue 2, pe491-e511, 21p, 5 Charts, 1 Graph
- Subject
- Parent-child relationships
Emotional experience
Belief & doubt
Research
Readability (Literary style)
Research methodology
Child behavior
Evaluation research
Comparative studies
Parents
Child death
Parental death
Children & death
Medical cooperation
Attitudes toward death
Mexico
- Language
- ISSN
- 00093920
A mixed-method approach was used to explore parent and child perspectives on death in Mexico. Parents' and children's death-related experiences and understanding of death were examined. While all children in this sample displayed a biological understanding of death, older children were less likely to endorse that all living things die. Children also displayed coexistence of beliefs related to death that can be attributed to both their biological and spiritual understanding of death. We also found that older children were more likely to report that a child should feel sad following the death of a loved one. These findings highlight how cultural practices shape the development of cognitive and affective processes related to death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]