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Children's representations of "everyday" aspects of health and illness
S L Goldman1, D Whitney-Saltiel, J Granger
1Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520.
Insights
Preschoolers understand illness through five key characteristics, similar to adults. Their health concepts also link illness understanding with nutrition and routine medical exams.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Health Beliefs
Background:
- Previous research focused on children's understanding of illness causation.
- Limited understanding exists regarding the broader dimensions of children's illness conceptions.
- Children's health knowledge, including nutrition and medical care, is not fully explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and evaluate additional dimensions of young children's illness conceptions.
- To explore children's understanding of health concepts related to nutrition.
- To investigate children's comprehension of routine preventive medical examinations.
Main Methods:
- Interviewed 27 healthy preschool children (ages 4-6).
- Assessed conceptions of common illness, basic nutrition knowledge, and understanding of pediatric examination procedures.
- Analyzed children's responses for illness dimensions, nutritional awareness, and medical knowledge.
Main Results:
- Children demonstrated understanding of five illness characteristics: causation, identity, consequence, timeline, and cure.
- These dimensions align with those identified in adult illness representations.
- Found associations between illness dimensions, nutrition concepts, and knowledge of routine medical examinations.
Conclusions:
- Young children possess a multifaceted understanding of illness, extending beyond causation.
- Children's health beliefs are interconnected, linking illness perceptions with nutrition and medical care knowledge.
- Findings inform future research on children's health literacy and developmental psychology.
Abstract:
Moving beyond a focus on children's conceptions of causation, the study sought to (a) identify and evaluate additional dimensions along which young children's conceptions of illness might be organized and (b) to discover how young children also understand health concepts related to nutrition and routine preventive medical examination. 27 healthy preschool children, ages 4-6 were interviewed about their conceptions of common illness, knowledge of basic nutrition, and understanding of medical procedures and instruments associated with a standard pediatric examination. The findings demonstrated that children understand five characteristics of illness representations, which have also been identified in adults. They include causation, identity, consequence, time line, and cure. Associations among illness dimensions, concepts of nutrition, and knowledge about routine medical examinations were also found and are discussed in terms of their implications for future research.